
Book L-^ 

Gopiglitls^^ 



COEXRIGHT DEPOSm 




CHILDREN FOR WHOM THESE LETTERS ARE PUBLISHED. 1912 



THE OLD WORLD 
THROUGH OLD EYES 

THREE YEARS IN ORIENTAL LANDS 



BY 

MARY S. WARE 



WITH 16 ILLUSTRATIONS 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
NEW YORK AND LONDON 

TLbc Ikntcfterbocfter press 

1917 



2 






Copyright, 191 7 

BY 

MARY S. WARE 



MAY 23 1917 



Ub< KnicherbocFter preee. View IQorft 



0)C!.A4r)7l48 



PREFACE 

These letters, written to my family during a trip 
around the worid, I have collected and printed for my 
grandchildren. I wish them to serve as a reminder of 
me in the time, not far distant, when my children will 
know me only through these written words. 

But I have also another object now, which I did not 
at first contemplate. I desire through the sale of this 
book to make these letters contribute, at least in some 
degree, to the comfort of those heroes, the wounded 
soldiers of France. Every dollar realized from the book 
shall be sent to French hospitals as long as the war 
lasts. Not that my sympathies are more with French 
than with English wounded, bi;t I know the need is 
greater among the French, and my slender resources 
must go to them. When peace shall have been de- 
clared should any sales of the book still continue the 
proceeds therefrom shall be devoted to the French 
soldiers blinded during the war. 

I should, perhaps, explain to any readers of these 
pages that I have not followed the usual course of travel 
narrative, for I have given little space to descriptions of 
natural scenery or of national monuments. What most 
interested me in my travels were the results obtained 
in colonization and in the government of backward 
peoples by the Americans, English, French, and Dutch. 
For obtaining the information I desired I found the 



iv Preface 

missionaries, especially the medical and teaching mis- 
sionaries who had lived for many years in close contact 
with the natives, the most valuable and reliable sources 
of knowledge. 

I had some advantages during my three years' tour in 
Oriental lands which ordinary travelers do not usually 
enjoy. I was the guest for days at four native courts 
and these among the richest and most respected of the 
native princes. I had interviews besides, with various 
other native rulers, and while in Bombay I had the 
privilege of seeing something of those wonderful people, 
so intelligent and so philanthropic, not great in num- 
bers but great in all the finest characteristics of our age 
— the Parsees. 

It was no doubt my age that won me the considera- 
tion of the great and the lowly in my travels through 
foreign lands, and I conclude by asking from my 
readers the same consideration for the same reason. 

Mary S. Ware. 

Sewanee, Tenn. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Children for whom these Letters are Published. 

191 2 ...... Frontispiece" 



Bromo ...... 

Sultan and Sultana of Solo 

Native House at Fort van der Cafellen 

Colonel Scheepens .... 

Batocks . . . . . . 

Maharajah of Travancore 

Maharajah of Mysore 

Prime Minister of Baroda 

Maharajah of Udaipur 

Burning Ghat, Benares 

Golden Temple of Amritzar 

Poplar Avenues, Kashmir . 

Mrs. Jwala Prasada .... 

Maharajah of Jaipur 



y 



256- 
270^ 
292 "^ 

302*^ 

314-^ 

372 

386" 

402^ 
412-^ 

426" 

432" 
472 
488 "^ 

512- 



Children for whom these Letters are Published. 

1916 554 



The 
Old World Through Old Eyes 



On Board S. S. Siberia, 
August 14, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

Two or three days after sailing I sat pretty limp in 
my steamer chair mostly dozing, my head full, however, 
of the images and events which filled the last moments 
before parting. That dear Laura was just lovely, and 
Hallie looked so elegant I was very proud of her, and 
Emory and Tom and Laura's boys were all as sweet 
as could be. Laura, who is a born spendthrift and will 
have her husband die in the poorhouse yet, brought 
pounds of salted and toasted almonds, I never saw in 
my life so many; she had her two sons to help her 
bring them, or it would have been physically impossible 
for her to have been so extravagant. Then there was 
a basket of assorted fruit, very delicious, from both 
Mrs. Jackson and Alice, each basket with a bottle of 
wine. I really do not know how to thank for so many 
and such rich favors. My room-mate has come in for 
a full share of it all. Poor thing, she is a widow of 
twenty-six in dreadful health and taking the ocean trip 
on that account. She belongs to that class which, 



2 The Old World 

though undoubtedly the backbone and sinew of our 
country, still can never say what it wants to say because 
of the inveterate habit of putting two negatives instead 
of one. She is on a strict diet and cannot eat meat, and 
being hungry all the time, the salted almonds and 
fruit have been of service to her and I have enjoyed 
them the more for having someone to share them. 
This poor, sick girl-widow has confided to me her 
ambitious hopes for the future and asked me to promise 
to tell no one on board, which I promised most sincerely. 
She said that by telling it someone else might be en- 
abled to exploit her idea. She expects to stay awhile 
in China before returning and while there she is 
determined to employ a Chinese chiropodist and learn 
the secret of his skill which she hears is great. She will 
then on her return set up a chiropodist establishment in 
San Francisco and make all the money she needs. I 
encouraged her in this enterprise and gave her much 
advice, though my attention had never been called to 
this branch of art before. She took me in charge, on 
learning that I needed her care, and with infinite and 
enthusiastic pains proceeded to eradicate every sign of 
trouble. I urged her in vain to go out in the fresh 
air, as her health required it, but she did not desist until 
my foot was in perfect condition. I was really grateful, 
and encouraged her greatly by telling her that it was 
a heaven-born vocation which she possessed and that 
she must surprise the secrets of China's chiropodists 
by employing more than one. As I cannot correct her 
English, I have taken my revenge on a young naval 
captain in the Japanese navy. His government has 
paid his way in a journey to all the great ship yards 
to take ample notes for the benefit of the Japanese. 
He is a Samurai, his wife a daughter of a Samurai 



Through Old Eyes 3 

general. He was with Togo during the Russian war, 
and when I got him to speak of those battles, his eyes 
flashed with excitement as he told of the execution 
done by his guns. "They call us little Japs with ugly 
faces, but we whipped the big Russians. " I have talked 
to him a good deal, trying to learn his point of view. 
He seems to be filled with suppressed rage at the idea 
that Westerners look down on his country and treat 
the Japanese with contempt. He could not express 
that to me openly as it would be humiliating, so he 
throws all his resentment into what he says of the 
English language. "You call it a world language, but 
I hope Japanese will be a world language some day. 
I do not want to learn to speak English. I can read it, 
that is enough for me. I want only to speak Japanese" — 
all this spoken very incorrectly and very vehemently 
showing a heart smarting under the sense of humilia- 
tion. He says: "I have watched you Westerners. 
You neglect old people and children. You pay servants 
to take care of the children and so they neglect you 
when they are grown. In my country Japanese 
mothers and fathers are always with their children, 
and if we have anything good it is first offered to the 
old people, our fathers and mothers, but the young 
couples in America are selfish and go out for pleasure 
all the time and neglect their home duties." I an- 
swered : "Japan is a poor country still, and the Japanese 
lead a simple life, but when through commerce and 
industry you become rich you will do as other rich 
people, you will pay to have every duty done for you. 
You have only seen the rich and the selfish but our land 
is full of homes where American mothers are working 
and doing their duty by their children." I tried to 
make him talk politics and say whether the Japanese 



4 The Old World 

are tired of the English alliance. He answers very 
justly that he is a soldier and not a politician, but he 
speaks of the Russian alliance with pride. Now that 
they have whipped the Russians into a proper state of 
humility they rejoice over the alliance. It is at present 
at the expense of China and Korea, but who knows 
when it will be turned against England. 

We have a Philippine band that sits in the rotunda 
above the dining-room and plays plaintive music, 
which I interpret as the plaint of a people longing 
for liberty, but then these Filipinos may be thinking of 
anything else. I have shown the photos of the "Beau- 
ties" to a few of the passengers and they of course 
admired them extravagantly. I showed them to Togo's 
captain who has two children of his own and told 
him that these were children who were cared for by 
their mother and were happy, but that we did not 
think English enough for them and intended them to 
learn several languages. His black eyes glowed as he 
looked at them, for he thought of his own, but he said 
nothing. During one of our talks, he said the Japanese 
were afraid of the Americans in the Philippines lest 
they should seize the Japanese ships and navy. I said 
we should never go to war with Japan. 

Honolulu, 2.30 p.m., 
August 17, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

Yesterday morning I took the trolley and, after a 
lovely ride of three miles out to the beach, I arrived at 
the Aquariimi, a small but wonderfully interesting 
collection. I never saw such coloring anywhere on 
fishes. There were no sea-anemones or other such like 
beautiful but low forms of animal life, but the fishes 



Through Old Eyes 5 

were of the most brilliant hues and trimmed off with 
varied colors in a marvelous manner. I was wishing, 
during the drive, for Laura on account of the wonderful 
flowering trees and shrubs, but in the Aquarium I 
wished for my children. I have been twice to the fish 
market and found there other remarkable specimens 
in color and form, so that I see there are many other 
tropical fishes in these waters unrepresented in the 
Aquarium, probably for want of funds. Yesterday 
after leaving the Aquarium I took my seat in the shade 
on the green lawn to watch the waves roll in over the 
coral reefs. It is a scene of perfect loveliness. The 
waters break in tints of azure, green, and darker blue, 
and earth and sky and sea are so harmoniously beauti- 
ful that I could waste a lot of time in such surroundings. 
While sitting there I took out my purse, and laying it 
on my lap began making some memoranda. The 
purse fell on the grass at my feet and when I got up to 
leave I forgot it, but only for a very few moments when 
I returned quickly, but some thief had evidently been 
watching me for no one was near the bench, but my 
purse was gone. It contained about fifteen dollars. 
I hadn't even five cents to return on the trolley to 
the ship, so I had to go back into the Aquarium to ask 
one of the passengers for the loan of a nickel. A certain 
Mr. Porter refused to lend me less than half a dollar 
which I took. I then told two other passengers from the 
ship of my loss. One of them insisted, quite urgently, 
on lending me twenty dollars, which I naturally refused, 
but was gratified, I may almost say comforted, by his 
confidence. 

I met a half-breed Hawaiian in the market this 
morning. He looked so fine in his white silk embroi- 
dered shirt, white suit, red tie, and big red rose in his 



6 The Old World 

buttonhole that I was timid in accosting him, but he 
readily told me his life's history. A most prosperous 
lawyer now. He has served six years in the Hawaiian 
territorial legislature and is again a candidate. He 
rejoices in American occupation of the Islands, owes 
everything, he says, to the education he got in missionary 
schools where for four hours' labor daily he had board 
and tuition free. His father, a Chinaman, deserted 
his mother who was very poor, if any one can be called 
poor where nature is so lavish. He rejoices greatly 
that he never learned Chinese. He says if he had he 
would have remained at their level, whereas he is now 
far above them, a man intensely satisfied with the life 
he has made for himself and family. He has sent his 
son to the United States. He was at Stanford three 
years ago, now in the East, where he is to study law 
at Harvard. The father thinks there will be a fine 
opening for him in China but the boy speaks no Chinese. 
Yesterday after I got some cash from the bank I had 
to find Mr. Porter to pay my fifty cent debt. He had 
left the vship for good at this place, but by inquiring I 
found his hotel and we had a pleasant talk, not about 
thieves and the deep indignation they cause, but about 
politics, for my visit to the hotel enabled me to see a 
pile of back newspapers and learn the happenings since 
I left home. 

On Board S. S. Siberia, 

August 26, 1 912. 

My dear Family: 

Before our ship left Honolulu, I found myself sur- 
rounded by vendors of wreaths and garlands made of 
fresh flowers called Lais. All the passengers getting 
on at Honolulu were profusely decorated with them, 



Through Old Eyes 7 

and a departing traveler threw one around my neck, 
so that I too had a very gay and festive appearance, 
with the others. It is a charming custom for a land so 
rich in flowers. I should love to spend a couple of 
weeks in Honolulu with my children and Laura. 
Several missionaries got on there, one of whom I find 
quite interesting, but from what they tell me I must 
give up my idea of boarding with them. They say 
they took in lonely tourists, guided them, waited on 
them, and did everything they could to make them 
happy, but they went home to spread false reports of 
the luxury of the missionaries in the Far East and of 
the money they were making by keeping boarders. I 
listened to long stories of the treachery of tourists and 
soon found that they were regarded with suspicion by 
the missionaries. I think, generally speaking, that 
where domestic service can be had for four dollars a 
month, it would be folly for missionaries to spend their 
time in drudgery. It certainly should be worth more 
spent in other occupations. It is, too, now fully recog- 
nized by us that for a high degree of efficiency a man 
must be well housed, well clothed, and well fed. I do 
not pretend to judge the question further, but anything 
savoring of treachery and ingratitude is abhorrent to 
my feelings. I am very sorry I shall not be taken into 
their homes. I should have learned much from them. 
I can never advocate making religious martyrs, but I 
think the missionaries, by their schools and spreading 
our language, are doing a most useful work. I cannot 
believe that peoples like those of China and Japan, 
which had developed a highly moral code centuries 
before the coming of our Savior, could have been dis- 
pleasing to the Almighty, but I leave those questions 
to others, whom they concern. Our Savior appeared 



8 The Old World 

among the most fanatical people of the world to reform 
them. Why should we fall into the error of fanaticism? 
Miss Cozad, the missionary whom I fancy most on 
board, told me a pleasant story of one of her servants. 
She has lived and worked for twenty-five years in 
Japan, has had the most devoted service and loyalty 
from her Japanese servants, whom she chooses from 
the Samurai class always, but never from foreign 
households. A cook who had served her faithfully for 
ten years asked leave to establish a bakery of his own. 
His bakery was a financial success, and among other 
things he made little Japanese cakes which his customers 
called "Jesus Cakes" because, Aono, the baker, was a 
Christian. These "Jesus Cakes" had great vogue 
among the Japanese. Now, some thirty-five miles 
distant was situated a Japanese garrison town, a great 
center of Buddhism, because of its temple and many 
priests. The missionaries had labored in vain in this 
field. At last it was proposed to send Aono thither. 
The proposition shocked poor Aono at first. ' ' What ! ' ' 
he cried, "I could not make my living in that place," 
but to his Samurai blood the idea of self-sacrifice 
appealed in the end and he gave up his happy home, and 
with his six daughters (a calamity in the Orient) he 
moved to the garrison town. Miss Cozad tells me that 
now there is not a more prosperous center of Christian 
influence in Japan than that built up in this stronghold 
of Buddhism by Aono. Last New Year's Day, at a 
lay gathering held there, the provincial governor, the 
commander of the garrison, and many officials ad- 
dressed the assembly. At the close Aono arose and 
spoke about the teachings of Christ, and next day his 
speech alone was quoted in full in the newspapers. A 
high official told Miss Cozad that Aono had such a high 



Through Old Eyes 9 

reputation for integrity that he would take his recom- 
mendation for the character of any man without further 
inquiry. This story is suggestive in many ways, but 
how democratic is Japan that a cook should have this 
influence among his countrymen! In no white man's 
country is this, perhaps, possible. 

The ship's captain has taken a day away from us. 
The young men were laughing about it when I said: 
"You are young, what is a day more or less to you, 
but I am old and it is a serious matter to lose a day. I 
know it is useless to complain but I grieve all the same 
for my lost day. " Then I confessed that fifteen years 
ago when I crossed this ocean to San Francisco the 
captain had given us a day, whereupon a young man 
cried out: "Oh, you have had the use of that day for 
fifteen years and have no right to complain now. " 

Tokyo, Japan, 
September i, 191 2. 

Dearest Family: 

I asked Cook if there were any good place in Tokyo 
where I could be received and made comfortable and 
where I could see real Japanese life. I told him this 
was my second visit to the country, but I had stayed 
only in the big hotels the first time and felt on leaving 
that I had learned little or nothing about the people, 
that this time I had come to learn all I could. He said 
there had lately been installed in Tokyo an institution 
of the Y. W. C. A., and he telegraphed to know if 
I could be accommodated there. The answer was 
satisfactory, so I came with the address written in 
Japanese, and on leaving the train, I gave it to the 
coolies and off we started. After a long drive, we 
reached the Y. W. C. A. building to learn that it was 



lo The Old World 

closed for the summer. The caretaker advised me to 
go to the Japanese ladies' dormitory, so off we started 
again, the poor coolies pretty tired. I arrived here like 
a bombshell among these peaceful inmates, utterly 
unexpected, for it was the caretaker at the Y. W. C. A. 
office who, unauthorized, had answered my telegram. 
The matron speaks but little English, but she under- 
stands it wonderfully well. She told me I should not 
be satisfied in this house, which was filled with Japa- 
nese girl students. I said: "Let me stay to-night and 
to-morrow I can go to the hotel. " So I was given the 
room of a student not yet returned. The supper was 
purely Japanese: bean soup, rice, fishes, not an inch in 
length, pickled Japanese radish, and other pickles — 
all these things portioned out in bowls and little tiny 
plates. I asked for two poached eggs and tried some 
of the soup. I could not excite any enthusiasm for it. 
For dessert I ate a large Japanese pear. I told the 
matron what I wanted for breakfast : buttered toast, an 
egg, and coffee. One of the young ladies spoke English 
pretty well, understanding everything I said without 
difficulty. The house is prett}^ exquisitely clean, with 
separate rooms upstairs and down. You know the 
usual Japanese custom is to form bed-rooms by setting 
up screens at night. The young ladies wipe all the 
upstairs floors every morning early. The servants wipe 
the downstairs floors daily. I never saw such thorough 
cleaning given to a house every day in my life, wood- 
work and panels all wiped off. After supper I was told 
it was bathing evening, which is three times a week. 
I was allowed the first bath, a compliment I appreciated. 
I found an immense tub of wood filled with clean hot 
water. The bathers are expected to wash the body well 
with soap before getting into the tub. The tub was so 



Through Old Eyes ii 

big I felt as though I could drown with ease. After the 
bath, in my dressing-gown, I held quite a levee in one 
of the girl's rooms. The charming young Miss Sen 
Aiba, who understands English so well, translated all 
I said. The young ladies desired nothing better than to 
laugh, so there was lots of fun. As each newcomer 
entered the room she kowtowed at the threshold. I 
expressed a desire to learn how to kowtow. I spread my 
hands close together on the floor and bowed, touching 
my head to my hands, but one of the girls called out: 
" Her feet are not right. " This led to close observation 
of my feet. They were certainly not right, and no 
pushing and pulling could make them so. The Japanese 
feet in kowtowing lie flat on the floor, resting at full 
length on the top of the instep. Now this was a physi- 
cal impossibility for me, only my toes touched the 
floor. This was indeed fun for the girls and Sen Aiba 
translated all I said. Sen means "fairy." Aiba means 
"loving waves, ' ' a fitting name for this sweet girl. Next 
day Sen Aiba agreed to go sightseeing with me. I 
found on referring to my guide-book that a fine private 
collection was open on Thursdays. We took the trolley 
and arrived there safely, to be told it was closed for 
summer repairs and only an introduction from the 
American Minister would admit us. We turned sadly 
away and I asked Miss Fairy to put me in a rickishaw 
to go to the Imperial Hotel for my midday meal, where 
I could read the newspapers during the spare time. 
Walking along I was struck with the sight of eagles on 
each side of a gateway. I approached to see whether it 
was a German or an American bird. It proved to be 
our Ambassador's residence, so in we went for the 
introductory card. I was received by a handsome 
attache named Campbell. I asked if he were kin to 



12 The Old World 

my Birmingham friends, found he had been to the 
University of Virginia, and though he did not personally 
know the Heath Dabneys, knew who they were. He 
went out a few moments and then returned to invite 
me into Mr. Bryan's sanctum. Mr. Bryan, the Am- 
bassador, was dictating a letter to another secretary, 
but chatted with me the while. I was discreet enough 
not to remain long. I told him I had such a respect 
for his time that I had not asked to see him, but that 
Mr. Campbell evidently thought me so peculiar a 
specimen of our country that he wished the United 
States Minister to see such a curiosity. Outside, Mr. 
Campbell gave me the introductory card from the 
Embassy. So we returned joyfully to the Okura private 
collection. It is in a very beautiful home in the midst 
of a charming garden. The house alone is worth seeing, 
but the collection is a grand one, representing forty 
years of purchases by Mr. Okura, a very wealthy 
merchant of Tokyo. The great drawback was that the 
rooms were all closed for the summer. The windows 
were only in part opened by our guide, so that the air 
was close and warm, laden with the smell of the im- 
prisoned gods and goddesses, a most disagreeable, 
penetrating odor, but when I complained of headache, 
we were taken to a veranda overlooking Tokyo and 
there in comfortable chairs we rested. This Okura 
collection pleased me immensely, more so than the 
Tokyo museum which I saw next day, but then I had 
the charming Miss Fairy and a remarkably good Eng- 
lish-speaking guide employed by Mr. Okura to show his 
collections. He has arranged to leave them to the 
government after his death. On coming out, we started 
for the nearby rickishaw stand at the Embassy gate. 
I needed a good meal and a cup of good coffee. That 



Through Old Eyes 13 

morning my toast and egg were all right, but I could 
not even smell the coffee. When the matron told me 
I was to have coffee instead of Japanese tea, my joy was 
great, but I imagined I was to make it, for there was 
not the faintest fragrance of that bean to be perceived. 
I found afterwards she had put a pinch of coffee in a 
white muslin bag and tying it securely had poured 
boiling .water till the pot was full, holding three cups. 
This is the beverage I had drunk for breakfast with a 
little sugar added. I had been drinking two cups of 
coffee every morning on the ship, with buttered toast 
and an orange, enough breakfast of coiirse, but every- 
body else ate many other things. I had eaten a cold 
lunch in Cook's office to save time for reading the 
papers and then that Japanese dinner and no coffee 
worthy of the name, so I was weary and hungry. I 
was just entering the rickishaw when Mr. Campbell 
and Mr. Biddle appeared (Mr. Biddle is also an 
attache) bringing me an invitation to lunch with Mr. 
Bryan. I knew Mr. Bryan to be an unmarried man and 
thought this impromptu invitation was for a simple 
family lunch. I was much pleased. It was only twelve 
o'clock, so I asked Mr. Campbell for the newspapers, 
took off my bonnet, and sat on a long veranda opening 
into a quiet, lovely garden. The newspapers were in- 
teresting, all the surroundings delightful, my chair very 
comfortable. My eyes began to pain me from reading, 
so dropping the paper I looked on the beauty around me, 
half in revery, waiting the pleasant sound of the lunch 
bell. Mr. Campbell came at last, it was past one o'clock. 
He was taking me through the hall, when down the 
broad stairs came trooping a bevy of gaily dressed ladies 
in beautiful summer hats and costumes. The very 
coterie of ladies that I had sailed with on the Siberia. 



14 The Old World 

My plain dress and dusty walking shoes were entirely 
out of place. I, however, remembered the advice 
given me by Alice about dress, and shook hands with 
each lady. I was delighted to see Commander Almy. 
We were good friends. I went upstairs to wash my 
hands but was so afraid of keeping the company waiting, 
as it was nearly half -past one, that I did not even do 
what I might have done for my toilet. The lunch was 
fine and the wine did me a lot of good too. I should not 
care to drink wine every day, but I really felt the need 
of it with the fatigue and the hunger. I sat near the 
foot of the long table, Commander Almy near me, so 
I was far away from the fashionables, and talked every- 
body to death around me, I fear. Mr. Bryan was at 
the other end among the young ladies. 

Friday the Fairy could not accompany me sight- 
seeing, so I got her to put me on the trolley with written 
instructions where to get off, which I did at the entrance 
to the Park where the museum is situated. It is 
enormous, but I didn't get so tired as the day before, 
because I made my own coffee for breakfast, but I 
found no guide to show me the objects. I suppose on 
account of its being summer. I saw the stuffed roosters 
with tails ii, 12, and i^'jA feet long, more curious 
than beautiful. I am perfectly comfortable in this 
house, going out to the best hotels for my midday meal. 
My first night here was not so comfortable, however. 
The pillow was made of some sort of coarse bran. When 
I asked Mrs. Wisteria what it was filled with, she 
thought awhile and said, "macaroni." "What!" I 
exclaimed, "Can you eat your pillows in Japan?" But 
it is made of bran, I believe. However, it did not suit 
me either as macaroni or as bran — too hard and un- 
comfortable. I looked in the closet of my room and 



Through Old Eyes 15 

found a very large wadded kimono, apparently new, 
and, I believe, intended for covering. This folded 
several times makes a pleasant pillow. Then there are 
a number of big quilts in this closet which make a fine 
bed on my clean white matting. The mosquito net is as 
big as a small room. Outside my windows is the ex- 
tensive garden of a wealthy Japanese resident. I cannot 
see into it because of the high, thick hedge of trees. I can 
only catch a gleam of color here and there. I am curious 
now to explore that mysterious garden. This house is 
far from the center of Tokyo. It takes some time in a 
ricldshaw, and I always walk up the hills for I hate to see 
the poor men straining their muscles. It saves much 
time, however, to go on the street cars. They charge 
4>^ cents of our money and give a return ticket. These 
return tickets can be used on any shorter trips. Wis- 
teria gives me written instructions in Japanese to show 
to police or car conductors. In the Park the other 
day looking for the museum, I asked a young Japanese 
woman where it was, and the fact of being questioned 
by a foreigner so frightened the creature that she fled 
with only one terrified glance behind her to mark the 
whereabouts of the specter. The dear Japanese girl. 
Sen Aiba, left us yesterday to my great regret. The 
matron had said to me how much she loved her. She 
was evidently most popular with the other young 
ladies, so I expected some demonstrations of affection 
when she took leave. She bowed very low to each one 
in turn, repeating some Japanese words in a low voice, 
which were responded to in the same manner. As I 
was taking part in this farewell scene I bowed too. 
Their heads were somewhat close together in bowing, 
but never a touch of hand or face in any instance. 
Last night there was no jolly levee in any room for me, 



i6 The Old World 

as the Fairy had gone. I spent it in the matron's room 
eating pears with her. She and I eat pears together 
every night. In this room that I am occupying, there 
is a remarkable Hbrary belonging to the young lady 
student who has not yet returned. The Fairy told me 
that this student had graduated from the same school 
as herself. The library belonging to her has works on 
most of the sciences, literature, and history, modern, 
ancient, and medieval. When I return from my 
northern toiir, I trust to make the acquaintance of 
this paragon; her library certainly amazes me. Mrs. 
Wisteria has been giving me lessons in putting on an 
obi. She has a great nimiber of them. They are a foot 
or more in width, of heavy silk, lined with the same, and 
some four-and-a-half yards in length. I had to begin 
by doubling it, making four folds of the thick silk, then 
wind it twice aroimd my waist, and behind my back 
make the proper aesthetic bow, putting in a pad too to 
insure that the bow stood out smoothly. This was an 
exhausting ordeal on a warm summer evening, and I 
found the obi dreadfully hot. I was glad to restore it 
to its owner who was equally glad to recover possession 
of it, as she said she felt chilled without it. During 
one of our gay evening levees, I happened to ask 
the name of the new Emperor. The Fairy and Mrs. 
Wisteria hung their heads reverently and said softly: 
"We never mention the name of our Emperor nor of 
the Empress nor of any of our highest officials." The 
bimip of reverence in the Japanese is certainly very 
highly developed, but their sense of humor also, if I 
can judge by these merry girls. All my observations, 
at any rate, when translated to them, produce peals of 
laughter. In all my life before, I have never had such 
success as a himiorist. It would be extremely flattering 



Through Old Eyes 17 

if I thought the laughter was intended solely for what 
I say. At the breakfast table, I have only to hint that 
the lazy girls avoid seats near the two wooden pails of 
steaming rice because the little individual bowls require 
frequent replenishing. This produces not only laughter 
but a little confusion too, for perhaps a grain of truth 
lurks under the jest. I can vary this rice joke by saying 
the greedy girl sits near the pail in order to take advan- 
tage of the others. A much appreciated witticism was 
that about the bean soup. Mrs. Wisteria had left the 
most of hers in her bowl. ''What!" I exclaimed, "your 
lamented Emperor went to war with China to procure 
the bean fields of Manchuria in order that each of his 
subjects should enjoy this delicious soup, and yet you 
are leaving it in your bowl to be thrown away. " This 
translated to the young ladies met with great success. 
When I find anything of which I do not understand the 
use, I bring it to Wisteria and say: "Please tell me the 
use of this honorable object." As it is generally some 
trifling affair, the explanation is given with much 
merriment. But a joke which came home to these 
young ladies was about my curly hair. A Japanese 
girl with curly hair is an unfortunate from her birth. 
The unhappy parents exclaim: "Alas! we can never 
get a good husband for our poor daughter, for she has 
curly hair." I have been told an entirely authentic 
story of a Japanese girl, an only child, who had this 
stigma. The parents spent one thousand yen (five 
hundred dollars) in medicines from quack doctors in 
order to procure the removal of the blemish, but all in 
vain. The child's health was seriously impaired and 
her temper soured. I said then, apropos of curly hair, 
"Had I been a Japanese maiden, I shoiild never have 
got a husband. How glad I am that I was not born in 



i8 The Old World 

Japan with my curly head." This was greeted with 
much laughter, and I am sure each girl thought I was 
right. I wish I could understand their jokes among 
themselves, they are so merry; but when I ask what 
it is all about, Mrs. Wisteria says: "Oh, they are only 
joking, but I don't know how to translate it. " I have 
missed Loving Waves very much. She was always 
showing me kindnesses, hovering about me like a 
daughter, explaining and translating and saying in 
return for my thanks: "Oh, you teach me English." 
I was interrupted here by one of the young ladies, who 
came to ask for an English lesson. I sighed internally 
at the interruption, but I took the book to give the 
lesson. It was The Imitation of Christ by St. Thomas a 
Kempis. These marvelous Japanese! to study English 
in a four volume edition of St. Thomas a Kempis! I 
read one chapter to her, explaining it as best I could, 
and then said I was very busy but would continue 
the lessons another time. How popular I could make 
myself in this house among these girls so eager to learn ! 

September 2, 19 12. 

Yesterday being Sunday and a day of pouring rain, 
I proposed music in the afternoon. The matron said: 
"I think it would hurt the girls' feelings to have music 
before our Emperor is buried." But after supper, one 
of the young ladies, to gratify my curiosity, brought out 
a stringed instrument over three yards in length, and 
played and sang old Japanese melodies. She has 
considerable skill, but her singing is so different from 
ours that it is far more curious than pleasing. I am 
told here the Japanese children do not have to learn 
spelling. They first learn the Japanese characters, 
then the Chinese, and use both in their writing. I do 



Through Old Eyes 19 

not understand any Oriental language, but I am told 
the Japanese have forty-eight characters in their 
alphabet. I am unable to judge to what extent children 
are spared here in the matter of spelling. The mail 
carriers come more frequently in Tokyo than in any 
place I have ever seen. They come all day long, and 
last night Wisteria waked me up after I had gone to 
bed to deliver a postal card which had been brought at 
ten o'clock. 

I was told in Yokohama by Cook that it would be 
impossible for me to see the Imperial funeral on the 
13th, an Englishman, an intimate friend of the British 
Ambassador having tried in vain to procure a ticket. 
A few days ago I wrote to the Mayor of Tokyo, saying 
I had returned to Japan after fifteen years, that I had 
always been a great admirer of their lamented Emperor, 
of his good and noble life, that I was myself older than 
he, and I begged to be permitted to be present at his 
funeral procession. Yesterday I received a kind 
answer from the Mayor on black-bordered paper 
granting my request, but referring me to the manager 
of the Imperial Hotel for the ticket. The Japanese 
have so many ideas about the sacredness of their 
Emperor that they will not permit any one to look down 
on the procession from any kind of height. So the 
streets will be filled with a compact mass of spectators. 
I shall be in the space allotted to foreigners, who do 
not behave with the same patient reverence as the 
Japanese. 

NiKKO Hotel, 
September 5, 1912. 

My dear Family : 

My bill at Mrs. Wisteria's was so moderate that I 
added two yen as a gift to her. She prepared my 



20 The Old World 

breakfast each morning and laughed unfailingly at my 
jokes; the two yen were fully earned. I made the two 
servants supremely happy with a half-yen each. The 
Japanese half -yen is bigger than our quarter and has 
altogether a more important look, which it does not 
beUe, as it has extensive purchasing power. When I 
gave the bright silver piece to the old, withered cook, 
she looked dazed and cast a glance around to see for 
whom it was intended. She didn't feel sure of it until 
Wisteria told her it was all intended for her. She 
kowtowed many times with all her old withered person. 
The young housemaid was better prepared for such 
munificence, but she kowtowed for all she was worth. 
Everybody said to me at parting: "Come back soon." 
I was so petted and humored in that house that I had 
to guard against being spoiled. They fanned me when 
I was too warm; one would massage an arm, another 
my shoulder, and even a third and fourth would find a 
way of doing something for me. In fact, I am spoiled, 
and I shall be glad to get back to that peaceful retreat. 
They had more curious things to eat than one can 
imagine: cured fishes so small that I thought them 
chopped up seaweed, but with a smell out of proportion 
to their size; half -pickled cabbage, always eggplant 
boiled in the bean soup, and pickled eggplant as a 
breakfast dish. One curious dish was made of what 
looked like thin, small pieces of fine textured bread, 
each piece ornamented by a little green wavy line. 
This was boiled and seasoned with a dark sauce. I 
could not make up my mind to touch such things for 
an early breakfast, I preferred my buttered toast, egg, 
coffee, and fruit. I have a repulsion to strange food 
products early in the morning, Sunday it rained very 
hard all day, so I had to take all three meals in the 



Through Old Eyes 21 

house. I enjoyed the fried slices of fresh ham and the 
pumpkin for dinner. 

I asked Loving Waves about Christianity in Japan. 
She said it was being Japanized so as to suit the people. 
She, herself, would not break with her family and reject 
the reverence paid to ancestral tablets, but reconciled 
that to her Christianity. I applauded her for this 
respect to her parents and ancestors, and assured her 
that only bigots could object to so beautiful a custom. 
She thanked me repeatedly for saying this. 

Now for Nikko, the beautiful ! I had forgotten how 
perfectly lovely Nikko was. I remembered the beauti- 
ful temples but the lovely scenes less. The day after 
getting here, I went unattended by a guide to make a 
tour of the temples. The forest of dark cryptomerias is 
wonderfully beautiful, the most beautiful forest I ever 
saw, seeming in itself a vast mysterious temple, every- 
where those straight stems of grand trees, bare of 
branches below and crowned with dark foliage, the 
coloring of the trunk a rich brown, like bronze. Among 
the trees, some of which are giants, the beautiful temples 
are conspicuous by their brilliant gold and red ornamen- 
tation, their airy roofs curved upward at the corners 
and loaded with artistic decorations. They stand out 
conspicuously at the top of flights of steps, preceded by 
the graceful torii. I went alone over all the scenes I 
had visited with Sedley fifteen years ago ; I never felt 
less lonely than in those lovely surroundings. But, oh, 
the interminable flights of steps! The native pilgrims 
would smile at me and say words which I knew ex- 
pressed sympathy for my old bones. I heard an old 
Japanese, who was being assisted by his old wife, 
groaning. I took great credit to myself for not groaning, 
but as John Miller said when a Httle child, "I looked 



22 The Old World 

very sad," and I had smiles of sympathy. The first 
temple I reached, comparatively low down, was sur- 
rounded by a lovely level space where beautiful pigeons 
were drinking from a great stone basin of clear water. 
I was standing in awe-struck admiration before that 
marvelously beautiful structure when some Americans 
accosted me. They proved to be missionary refugees 
from China, a Mr. and Mrs. Stevens and her sister, the 
latter, nieces of Mrs. Bishop Bratton of Jackson, Miss., 
whom I knew in Sewanee. They said their mother 
knew my dear Clelia McGowan very well. I am to go 
to them when I get to China. Whenever I entered a 
temple, I placed copper pennies on the floor and insisted 
on the gongs being beaten so as to call the attention of 
Buddha to the fact of my generosity. In our religion 
we are taught that we are not to expect any credit for 
giving, but in these pagan temples, with their throngs 
of devout pilgrims, amid scenes of such harmonious 
beauty, together with the all-pervading, exquisite 
neatness, I become, through warm sympathy and 
admiration, a thorough pagan and, as such, I want aU 
the credit I can get for my offerings of pennies. The 
poor pilgrims do not even put pennies on the floor, but a 
small copper coin with a hole in the center, value 
extremely small. I love to hear the gong sounding, 
which calls on the Buddha to witness these offerings. 
There is a wonderfully melodious bell in one part of 
the grounds. It is rung by wooden beams suspended 
by ropes which strike the big bell from opposite sides. 
The sound is very mellow and full, so much more so 
than the clangor of our metallic clappers striking from 
within. After this round among the temples, which 
took me from half-past seven until one o'clock, I felt 
pretty tired in my limbs, but wishing to utilize my 



Through Old Eyes 23 

afternoon, I called for a ricldshaw to go to a fine water- 
fall some few miles distant among the mountains. I 
was told the recent rains had demolished the road and 
that I could only reach the falls by a chair. I ordered 
the chair. It was fastened to two stout bamboo canes, 
no covering. I took my seat, the four bearers lifted me 
aloft on their shoulders. I felt my heart overflowing 
with pity for those four stalwart men who were to take 
me several miles on a mountain road for $1.30 divided 
among them. What a price for human muscle! I was 
deeply filled with commiseration for them, but this 
feeHng lasted only two and one half minutes by my 
watch, when I became filled with a much greater feeling 
of commiseration for myself. The chair went forward, 
of coiu-se, borne by the bearers, but my body went 
vertically up and down with each combined movement 
of the bearers' steps. I felt as though I were being 
churned. Fortunately, I had eaten very little lunch, 
else I think it would have been hiurled out of me. The 
people I met smiled, some even laughed as they saw 
me joggling helplessly, the malicious secretly rejoicing, 
no doubt. In the mountains I should gladly have 
spared the four bearers, and myself incidentally, by 
walking beside the chair, but my legs refused any more 
climbing. My brain seemed a chaos of primordial jelly. 
I found, however, that in certain positions, I could 
stand it better. The mountain ascent, so hard on the 
bearers, was far easier on me. I came to a lovely pond 
of clear water spanned in its winding course by a 
picturesque bridge. From this bridge little naked boys 
were springing into the water on either side and swim- 
ming like fishes. I long to have my children swim like 
these Oriental children. We had to cross two freshets 
where the bridges had been washed away. The men 



24 The Old World 

offered to carry me in their arms, but this I declined. 
They then got me over the two poles (fastened together 
to serve as a temporary bridge), in an ingenious manner. 
One went in front, walking backwards, the other behind 
me, each holding a stout stick as a firm barrier with each 
hand. On this barrier I seized, and as it enclosed me, I 
felt perfectly safe. I managed to walk a little when 
I got down at these two crossings, both going and 
returning, but it was very little. The five and a half 
hours in the morning were all I could do, but I treated 
the men at the tea houses and they seemed entirely 
satisfied. At nine this morning, I started on an excur- 
sion to Lake Chuzenji, which Sedley will remember 
well. I was able to take a train the first few miles, then 
a rickishaw with two coolies. The way is most beauti- 
ful, following the course of a mountain torrent like the 
Yosemite. The mountains are very fine too, heavily 
wooded. I was able to spare the coolies by walking at 
all the very steep places. Since Sedley and I were 
there, a fine hotel has been built on the lower end of the 
lovely lake. To this I went for lunch. The lake 
abounds in fine fish, and I had a most delicious fish 
lunch with a dessert of luscious peaches. The Japanese 
hotels have vastly improved in the last fifteen years. 
Their cooking is now very good. They are models of 
comfort too. As for the fruit, fine varieties have been 
introduced, and I have had not only delicious peaches, 
but figs and grapes. I have not once been offered stewed 
fish which wrecked my digestion when here before. 

Sendai, 
September 8, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

I left the fine hotel in Nikko regretfully after a stay 
of only three days. This is a purely Japanese hotel, 



Through Old Eyes 25 

the best, however, the place affords. No one speaks 
English; the one man who could do so has now left 
and I am thrown on my own unaided resources for 
making my wants known. This morning when I woke 
up it was still raining, but I determined to make 
the excursion to Matsushima all the same. I had 
ordered eggs, coffee, and toast for six-thirty, but it was 
seven-thirty before even a cup and saucer could be 
obtained. After that my breakfast was served in 
courses, the salt and sugar last. I reached the train 
when it was on the point of starting. On leaving it, one 
has two miles to go before reaching the landing where 
tourists take the little steamer. It was still raining but 
I was perfectly protected in the rickishaw. I said 
nothing to the coolie as I supposed he was accustomed 
to taking tourists for this excursion, but every now and 
then he would stop, turn to me, and hold a long dis- 
course, to which I listened respectfully, without under- 
standing one word, and then I would repeat the word 
"sheep" which was the nearest I could come to the 
supposed Japanese pronunciation of ' ' ship. ' ' Whenever 
I said "sheep," the man would begin pulling again, so 
I imagined it was all right. At last we got to Mat- 
sushima. There the coolie, after having listened to the 
word "sheep" several times, took me to the foot of a 
long flight of steps which I mounted in the rain. I saw 
a pavilion with chairs to which I directed my steps. It 
commanded a wonderfully beautiful view of the little 
inland sea with its so-called thousand pine-covered 
islets. The rain poured, but I was under cover, with a 
surpassingly beautiful bit of nature spread out before 
me. A man came with a piece of paper on which were 
Japanese hieroglyphics. He spoke earnestly to me 
about the paper, and made me at last understand that 



26 The Old World 

he wished thirty sen for it. I Hstened patiently and said 
"sheep" pointing to the sea. He still continued to 
talk, but "sheep" produced, at last, the desired effect, 
and he departed with his paper, I then found in 
Murray's Guide-Book a perfect treasure of Japanese 
words about shopping and eating. By studying 
diligently, I came to the words, "I don't understand," 
but it was difficult to memorize. However, the Japa- 
nese are the most patient and polite people in the world, 
and I found afterwards they were willing to give me the 
time to hunt up this particular word and then pronounce 
it, seemingly to their entire satisfaction. The trouble 
is that it is difficult for me to make out the small print 
in Murray. While engaged in studying up words I 
found "Kitty," meaning ticket, a most valuable word 
by reason of its being so easy to remember. At last, 
the man with the paper came back and pointed to the 
little vessel, which had arrived in sight. I went down, 
followed by him. He accompanied me to the steamer, 
showed me into the tiny cabin, and again spread out his 
little paper on which " thirty" was written. The word 
* ' Kitty ' ' came into my head. I said : * ' Kitty, kitty ? ' ' and 
he nodded delighted, so I paid the thirty sen gratefully, 
for I think I should have missed the boat but for him, 
as I was so engrossed in studying Murray's dictionary 
of useful words. It rained so continuously that I had 
to remain shut up in the little cabin, though from time 
to time I went out in the weather to have a peep at the 
fairy scene. I kept Murray open at the words, "I don't 
understand," as I found that the most satisfactory 
answer I could make to the conversation of the other 
passengers when addressed to me. I was the only 
foreigner on this excursion, which, in spite of the rain, 
I did not regret. 



Through Old Eyes 27 

I found while taking a. walk here between showers, a 
little Catholic church, and going in I found an old 
French priest. I paid him quite a lengthy visit as he 
was most interesting and quite cordial. He has been 
in this country thirty-one years, teaching French to 
all those who desire his lessons. He has a boys' day 
school besides. There are also French sisters who have 
a girls' school. These two schools do not open until 
next week so the old man was not too busy. I went 
back there this afternoon and paid him another visit. 
I enjoyed his society greatly. I found a Japanese 
gentleman with him taking a lesson, but this lesson was 
immediately put aside to entertain me. The old priest 
said it could be renewed to-morrow. He described to 
me the enthusiasm which inspired all ranks during the 
Russian war, how the poorest peasants never seemed to 
tire of sacrifices, giving at every demand and reducing 
their own wants accordingly. He said it was magnifi- 
cent, but he added, "I don't believe it could ever be 
repeated." I said people could not in time of peace 
keep up all that ardor, but I believe the same spirit 
existed still. He said the Japanese were losing many of 
their fine qualities by contact with our civilization. 
There was the rage for money-making and enjoyment. 
The merchant class above all others was eager to 
employ get-rich-quick methods. The government did 
its best to watch over commerce and introduce honor- 
able dealing, but it was often outwitted. Japanese 
merchants were very unreliable, adulterating and 
falsifying in every way. The older employees of the 
government were Samurai and a wonderful set of men, 
but the younger men were not reliable, eager for 
amusement and the money to obtain it. He may be 
right, but I am disposed to make allowance for an old 



28 The Old World 

'man's pessimism. He told me also of the Russian 
prisoners here during the war. He taught the officers 
French. It must have beguiled their homesickness to 
learn French from this kind-hearted and interesting 
old man. 

Tokyo, 
September lo, 19 12. 

I stopped writing at Sendai to take the night train to 
Tokyo, Being advised by the French priest, I bought 
an air pillow, and in my first-class compartment I could 
stretch out at full length. The second class was fear- 
fully crowded. There were two Japanese passengers 
with me, man and wife, with whom I got on very well, 
as he spoke some English. I could not get sleepy, so 
I didn't have a good night. When I reached Wisteria's 
abode, I found the house filled with the girl students, 
three in each room. I made up my mind to go to the 
Imperial Hotel, but felt very uncertain about being able 
to get a room there, as the Emperor's funeral had drawn 
crowds to the city. I was so himgry that I ate Wis- 
teria's Japanese supper with fine appetite, though she 
kept telling me not to eat anything as Miss Matthews 
from the Y. W. C. A. was coming for me. Wisteria 
speaks English so badly that I did not fully imderstand 
her and Loving Waves was no longer present to explain. 
After supper, Miss Matthews and two other young 
ladies actually did arrive to carry me off to supper, 
with them, and then I was sorry I had eaten at Wis- 
teria's. All my belongings were placed in a rickishaw, 
and after a warm-hearted leave taking, partly by hand 
shaking and partly by profound bows, I started off on 
foot with the three young ladies. We soon reached the 
National Headquarters of the society, at whose head 



Through Old Eyes 29 

is Miss McDonald, a Canadian lady. The building is 
charming, such exquisite neatness and taste. I went 
to table with them but could eat nothing, having filled 
myself with curious Japanese things. Their simple 
food was cooked so temptingly that it looked very 
appetizing. It was a gay supper table. We all laughed 
so much. In the sitting-room after supper, I read 
Bill's and John's letters which produced more laughter. 
To me they were lovely and touching. John signed 
himself "Your loving son, John." Bill simply wrote 
his full name which took up two lines of his letter paper. 
Both Bill and John wrote principally of the move to the 
new house. I had to explain to my kind hostesses that 
my family were generally engaged in moving, usually 
across the continent, but from time to time from 
one house to another in the same place. The ladies 
now told me they had made arrangements for me in a 
Japanese inn near them where I should be most comfor- 
table. I could have my early breakfast in my room, 
the other meals could be taken where I wished, or even 
ordered in the inn where the proprietor understood 
cooking for foreigners and could speak English. So 
Miss Matthews kindly accompanied me over here and 
insisted on opening and arranging my things for me. 
She is pretty with most pleasing manners. I slept the 
sleep of the just, feeling so safe here that I left door and 
windows wide open all night, and the wind blew all 
the mosquitoes away. I have done a little sight-seeing 
already. I went first to St. Luke's Hospital, a fine 
Episcopal institution, hoping to see one of the doctors 
in charge, of whom I had heard much. He was not in 
but the Japanese doctor was very polite and entertain- 
ing. He told me the Episcopal college, St. Paul's, was 
very near the hospital and I might find the President, 



30 The Old World 

]^r. Riefschneider, at home. Mr. Riefschneider proved 
a charming man. He said if his wife were returned from 
their summer home, they would take me to their house. 

Tokyo, 
September 15, 19 12. 

My dear Family: 

Friday, day of the funeral cortege, we three American 
ladies from this house took rickishaws at three o'clock 
to go to the place assigned us to see the procession. 
We carried camp-stools and some light refreshments. 
The way thither was very interesting, street-car traffic 
had ceased at twelve, so we went through a stream of 
pedestrians on either side. The line of march of the 
cortege was profusely decorated with white and black 
cloth, banners, and national flags. The crowd of 
Japanese which thronged Tokyo from far and near was 
very decorous and restrained. No sign of merriment or 
of joy, and yet after days of rain the sun was shining 
gloriously and parks and gardens were resplendent 
in fresh verdure. We had our places in an open space 
bordering the Russian Embassy. There we made 
ourselves as comfortable as possible for five-and-a-half 
hours of waiting. There was no crowd of foreigners at 
any time during the evening, although the government 
had lifted the restrictions on the issue of tickets by the 
Embassies. We easily secured front places along 
the rope barrier. I sat near a French lady and her 
husband and beguiled the moments talking to them. 
When tired of sitting, we walked up and down the 
enclosure chatting with acquaintances. Still in spite 
of every permissible diversion, we got tired before the 
cannon-shot announced the departure of the cortege 
from the palace grounds. Soon afterwards we began to 



Through Old Eyes 31 

hear the music from the first band. In front of us, in 
the very wide street, stood two rows of khaki-clad Japa- 
nese soldiers, a similar two rows lined the other side. 
The cortege passed between. The street was perfectly- 
level and the line of march strewn with fine white sand, 
each inequality filled in with sifted gravel. Sweepers 
had taken infinite pains to make the way as smooth 
and as soft as a carpet. Our places were so flat they 
almost seemed in a depression. There was not a horse 
used in the cortege, not a wheeled vehicle except the 
primitive but splendid funeral cart, massive and tall, 
with its two great wheels coated with black lacquer 
and resplendent with gold trimmings. The silence was 
only broken by the music of funeral marches, Meyer- 
beers, Beethovens, and Chopins, played by wonderfully 
trained Japanese orchestras. Then there were the 
military "fanfares" and the Shinto music played on 
reeds somewhat resembling bagpipes and rather weird 
in sound. Our street was dimly lighted by scattered 
and feeble electric lights. I saw the whole pass by 
dimly as so many phantoms gliding noiselessly. Some- 
times they looked like cattle driven at night through the 
streets, as I have seen in some European cities, some- 
times they looked like shrubbery moving over a stage. 
It was all spectral, a phantasmagoria, only the great 
cart loomed up from the general level, the Shinto cart of 
cumbrous, primitive construction according to imme- 
morial usage in Imperial funerals. Also the tall white 
silk pennants were ghostly. There loomed up also the 
two trees, wound with white ribbon, emblems of the 
nature worship of the Shinto religion. The fine sacred 
oxen drawing the carts were covered with white cloths 
and so closely and numerously attended by high officials 
that nothing really could be seen of them. I did not 



32 The Old World 

♦then know that General Nogi, whose career I had 
followed with such admiration, as well as that of 
General Kuroki, during the Russo-Japanese war, was 
weltering in his blood together with his wife, he hav- 
ing at the first boom of the cannon, announcing the 
departure of the body of the Emperor committed 
hara-kiri, a suicide by disemboweling, his wife cutting 
her throat, both using the short Japanese sword. I felt 
deeply, however, all that the Emperor's death and this 
national leave-taking of their hero meant to the Japa- 
nese. Every house had a large white lantern hanging 
from the lintel of the door on which two characters were 
written in black, meaning "leave-taking." General 
Nogi and his wife wished to follow their Emperor. He 
lost two sons, officers under their father, diu-ing the war, 
but he and his heroic wife must have regarded their loss 
as only another sacrifice to their country. The govern- 
ment has tried by earnest commands to stem this desire 
for self-immolation in the Japanese. The foreigners 
who were viewing the funeral cortege were there from 
pure curiosity. The Japanese were there from other 
motives, deep sorrow and reverential awe. Multitudes 
who had tome from distant parts of Japan could 
find no spot from which they could view those last 
solemn ceremonies and take their part in the final 
leave-taking. The police had to push them back 
and protect the reserved places of the foreigners, who 
did not always behave even with that outward reverence 
befitting the occasion. The Japanese had wished 
to take leave of their Emperor without any foreign 
spectators, but after the nations had sent their 
distinguished delegates, and persistent demands were 
made at the Embassies for permission to view the 
pageant, then tickets were issued, but the Ambassador 



Through Old Eyes 33 

warned all how to behave, what to wear, and that they 
must expect to stand for hours. As a matter of fact 
the passing of the cortege was over at nine-thirty, 
British marines and blue jackets following, but we did 
not, naturally, owe the same reverential bearing to them 
as to the religious element of the procession. All 
preceding the funeral cart was Shinto and the old tradi- 
tional Japan. All that followed it was modern Japan 
in uniforms and feathered hats, frock-coats, and evening 
toilets. 

Mrs. Wisteria and one of the young ladies came yester- 
day to see me. I am the only foreigner their dormitory 
ever harbored and it was caused by a mistake. It 
was quite a pleasant episode for me, but could never be 
repeated by any one else, for the servant sending the 
telegram was reprimanded. The young lady who 
called with Mrs. Wisteria will accompany me this 
afternoon to see the Emperor's shrine. She speaks a 
little English and is very intelligent. I went yesterday 
morning to see some famous temples at Shiba Park and 
then started out to revisit, after fifteen years, the tombs 
of the forty-seven Ronins. Sedley will remember 
these heroes of Japanese history. I took a car from 
Shiba Park without having previously provided myself 
with the address written in Japanese. No one on the 
car could understand the words "forty-seven Ronins" 
though all were eager to help me, so I took a pencil and 
wrote " forty -seven, " then I made signs saying, "hara- 
kiri" — immediate and general recognition. I was shown 
the place to leave that car and take another, then when 
to get off, and finally at the tombs of the Ronins I met 
a disinterested merchant from Yokohama who took me 
willingly in charge. I counted the forty -seven Ronins' 
tombs and that of their captain and the lord, Daimio, 



34 The Old World 

* whom they obeyed. Before each tomb, incense was 
burning and a green branch placed in a bamboo cane 
of water. Those Ronins embody the whole faith of 
Japan, loyalty to their lord, and self-sacrifice. The 
youngest Ronin was only sixteen. His grave is very 
popular and that of the leader of the band. 



GENERAL NOGI S SUICIDE 

September 1 8, 1912. 

There has been much comment in the Japanese 
papers on the manner of General Nogi's death, and criti- 
cism of his motives. His suicide has been imputed with 
more or less of unanimity to " junshi. " Now " junshi" 
is the very ancient custom of taking one's life at the 
death of an overlord. It was not, in the olden times, 
always a voluntary act, but was often inspired by fear of 
being considered a coward, or untrue to the chief. Laws 
were early made against it, as it natiu-ally weakened the 
power of the successor to the throne, depriving him of 
his most faithful and courageous followers. Now in 
the case of a man of General Nogi's character, it seems 
to me the obvious and simple thing to accept unhesi- 
tatingly his own version of the motives leading to 
his suicide, as given in his last letter. In that he says : 

Through my carelessness, I lost the regimental flag en- 
trusted to me during the civil war of 1877, and ever since I 
have been looking for an opportunity to put an end to my 
life on account of that disgrace. But I could find none. 
On the contrary, I have ever hitherto been bathed in the 
light of the Emperor's great benevolence, which I scarce 
deserved. I am now advanced in age, and I have come to 



Through Old Eyes 35 

the belief that I should be of little use to the Emperor, 
when suddenly occurred his death, which was a great blow 
to me and prompted me to resolve to die. 

A little farther on he gives his reasons for not adopting 
an heir, being afraid of adopting an unworthy one who 
might disgrace his name. He says: "I cannot do a 
thing which is against the divine principles. " Trained 
in all the heroic virtues of the Samurai code, the tend- 
encies of modern times to luxury and money making 
were a sore trial to him. His wife's devotion and 
courage form a rare pendant to his own act of self- 
immolation and will enhance its impressiveness to the 
nation for all time. Their lives were undoubtedly 
lonely without their two sons, who fell in the war, 
fighting under their father. The old general expressed 
in a Chinese poem, which he composed on his arrival 
in the capital after the war, his deep sorrow over the 
dreadful slaughter of his battalions during the siege 
of Port Arthur, saying that he dreaded "to face the 
bereaved parents of the soldiers killed while executing 
his commands." I have heard that this immense 
sacrifice of life was due to the direct orders of the 
Emperor to take the fortress at any cost, but General 
Nogi was not a man to throw responsibility on others, 
certainly not on the Emperor whom he adored. His 
death was an act of extreme heroism. In former times 
much of the horror and brutality of hara-kiri were avoided 
by the assistance of a faithful friend, who stood near 
with a sharp sword to cut off the head after the first 
sHght incision in the abdomen had been made, but the 
old general, after having yielded to his wife's entreaties 
to be allowed to die with him, after having seen her 
plimge the sharp sword or dagger into her throat, carried 



36 The Old World 

out the Samurai act in all its details alone, surely a 
supreme test of fortitude and of courage. 

Later. I am just back from General Nogi's funeral. 
The crowd was so great that I could see but little. 
There seemed, however, a deep sense of the solemn 
pathos of the occasion in every heart. 

I leave Tokyo to-morrow. In traveling in this 
country, I feel perfectly safe in the native inns. I 
never lock up anything and have lost nothing. If the 
nights are very warm, I leave door and windows open, a 
thing I have never done elsewhere. The Japanese mer- 
chants may be tricky as charged, but the people are 
wonderfully honest. I think, moreover, that the same 
causes which have built up so honorable a merchant 
class elsewhere are silently working in Japan to the 
same end. Commerce is founded on credit which means 
confidence. The merchant's good name is worth more 
than any temporary gain from trickery. While appreci- 
ating fully all the fine qualities of this people, I can 
understand Lafcadio Hearn's disillusion. He attempted 
what is hardly possible, I think; that is, give up one's 
own race and be adopted into another on terms of per- 
fect equality. No one can do violence to nature, and 
race differences are great. We can respect and admire 
all that is admirable in other races but we cannot 
obliterate race distinctions, for they are ever present in 
the mind of one or the other party. 

Sunday afternoon I went with a charming Japanese 
girl from Wisteria's establishment to visit the Emper- 
or's shrine. We had great difficulty in getting places in 
the tram and there were no rickishaws in sight. The 
young lady was too timid, and after I had deferred 



Through Old Eyes 37 

to her leadership till I found we should never get there, 
I said: "I shall take the next car and pull you in after 
me. " And we got there, for the Japanese are very 
polite to me as an old woman and a foreigner. We 
then had to stand in the rain and take our turn with 
the crowd. The great funeral car stood under a long 
open temple closed at the back only, with silk curtains 
in front and at the sides. These were rolled up 
sufficiently. On either side of the car were long rows 
of wonderfully handsome antique drimis which had 
required two men to carry in the procession. There 
were also rows of spears of old Japan. The car itself is 
grand, original, and strikingly picturesque. I did not 
mind the rain, it was all so interesting- 

DZUSHI, 

September 20, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

When I left Yokohama yesterday morning, knowing 
how full my day would be, I bought a lunch to eat on 
the train. I went first by electric tram to Enoshima, a 
lovely ride, traversing neat little villages where the 
thrift and industry of the inhabitants could be well 
seen from the car window. Enoshima is a little island 
connected by a long bridge with the land, and on the 
sandy beach are rows of enormous baskets as tall as I 
and big in proportion. These huge baskets had stout 
bamboos lashed with ropes at each side. They are to 
let down into the sea to keep the fish alive, having a 
net tied over the small opening. Enoshima is very 
small and wonderfully picturesque, facing the famous 
Fuji San across a narrow bay. The weather did not 
permit me to see Fuji, but graciously refrained from a 
soaking rain. One of my rickishaw men accompanied 



38 The Old World 

me over the long bridge and up the steep street of the 
village. We came at length after a steep ascent to a 
priest who was lying in wait for us. "Cave, Cave," 
he asked. I nodded. I had bought the picture of a 
fascinating cave. So, attended by the coolie and the 
priest, I began an interminable series of flights of stone 
steps, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending. It 
was most exhausting, and both men must have known 
that the recent storm had washed away the slender 
bridge leading along the rocky, surf-beaten coast. We 
reached the wrecked bridge at last. There I found 
workmen putting it up again. The priest and the coolie 
apparently settled themselves to wait for the completion 
of the job. A Buddhist priest can squat and find his 
Nirvana, perfect patience, anywhere. He was willing 
to wait. After watching the workmen for some time, 
I came to the conclusion, if lay opinion is worth any- 
thing in the art of bridge building, that those men had 
a long job ahead of them. I had many other things on 
my mind. There was the great Diabutsu at Kamakura 
waiting silently under the open sky. I had not seen 
him for fifteen years. Then I had invited Japanese 
guests for a dinner to be given at the Hotel in Dzushi 
at seven o'clock that evening, so I took up the burden of 
retracing my way over all those ascending and descend- 
ing stone steps. My coolie, seeing that I was tired 
at one of the steepest flights, stooped before me and 
tried to induce me to get on his back. I did not do so, 
but I forgave him for dragging me to that washed- away 
bridge. The scene, however, was grand of the waves 
breaking over the rough rocks. At Kamakura, I 
visited the great Daibutsu and was so impressed by his 
solemn grandeur that I could not comprehend my par- 
tial indifference fifteen years ago. One should always 



Through Old Eyes 39 

see him thus at the hour of evening prayer when he is 
indescribably noble and solemn. I came away with an 
indelible impression of reverential awe. 



September 21, 19 12. 

I reached Dzushi from Kamakura a little after five 
P.M. day before yesterday and came to this hotel 
where I found no one who could speak English, so 
leaving my luggage I directed the rickishaw to take me 
to Mr. Hiroki's, the Naval Constructor, whom I met on 
the ship, and whose family I had invited to a Japanese 
dinner that night. His house was very pretty and 
shining with neatness, but the servant who received me 
could not make herself understood. When I asked 
for Mr. Hiroki, she rubbed herself violently, legs, arms, 
and face. I understood, of course, that he was taking a 
bath but it lasted so long that I got uneasy. However, 
the little girl came out evidently fresh from her bath with 
the grandmother drying her masses of beautiful black 
hair. Was this preparation for the dinner? And was 
the child expected to go through the night air with damp 
hair? I could do nothing but watch the old grand- 
mother as she talked and flapped the child's hair, strand 
by strand with a towel. I was in complete uncertainty. 
Had the dinner been ordered and were they really going? 
At last Mr. Hiroki came forth from his bath in Japanese 
clothing. I was greatly relieved to be able to ask 
questions and get answers. Yes, they were to dine 
with me, but Mrs. Hiroki was ill. Two rickishaws 
now appeared and with the two children, looking like a 
big bunch of flowers in one and Mr. Hiroki in the other, 
we came over to the hotel. My room is big and beauti- 
ful, looking right out on the bay, only a garden between 



40 The Old World 

ahd fishing boats always in sight. The children and I 
were eager for the dinner; we were very hungry. At 
last it came. A lacquer platter heaped with Japanese 
cakes, the first course. They were extraordinarily 
good. The children ate so moderately of them, I think 
they had been told to wait. Then came a bowl of 
bouillon for each in which were balls of minced chicken 
mixed together with beaten egg, very good, then a plate 
for each of fried minced lobster and minced chicken 
beaten with eggs, both served with fine shredded onions, 
very good. Then fried lobster, fit for the table of a 
king, so fresh, so delicately cooked. Dzushi is famous 
for its lobster fishing. Then dishes of raw fish, the 
consistency of a thick jelly with a sauce. I am afraid of 
raw fish, but I tasted it and it was not bad. Another 
dish of raw fish, pickled, prepared so as to be very 
ornamental. I did not touch this. Then large bowls 
of what looked like baked custard containing mush- 
rooms, pieces of lobster, of chicken, and some minced 
herbs, very good; then for me a special plate of fried 
chicken, green peas, and fried potatoes. I left these 
special dishes severely alone, for I really enjoyed my 
Japanese dinner — it was so thoroughly well prepared 
and of the very best materials. We drank some 
effervescing sweet drink. As there was no bread, I took 
the Japanese cakes instead. I always did like sweets 
during dinner, so I got on finely, but at the end of the 
meal a plate heaped with buttered toast and a wooden 
pail of steaming rice appeared. I took neither. We all 
enjoyed this royal dinner and when it was over the little 
girl, who is very pretty, went to sleep on the cushions. 
Then Mr. Hiroki asked for the bill and announced that 
he was going to pay it. I was amazed and mortified. I 
argued till I was tired. He wouldn't show it to me. At 



Through Old Eyes 41 

last my head began to ache and I told him he had made 
me ill, which was perfectly true. Then only I got hold 
of the bill and paid it, for he saw that I was in dead 
earnest. It was over four dollars. With Japanese 
salaries, a bill of over eight yen besides the two ricki- 
shaw rides and a fee to the waiter is no small item. 
My imagination suggested the thought that perhaps this 
royal feast to an utter stranger was the cause of Mrs. 
Hiroki's illness, absurd, no doubt, but I determined that 
I would pay that bill. It certainly destroyed much of 
my pleasure that I had such a fight over it. I felt amply 
repaid as a tourist to enjoy a really finely prepared 
Japanese meal and I am sure this was one. I had 
eaten a cold lunch on the train and was as hungry as a 
wolf, and that lobster alone seemed to me priceless. 
We had also very fine fruit for dessert. After the 
departure of my guests, I began to undress as it was nine 
o'clock and I was very tired. Mr. Hiroki had written 
out most of my wants for that night and next morn- 
ing. I had received a letter from Madam Uriu most 
cordially written, inviting .me to luncheon next day. 
Mr. Hiroki told the manager I should need a rickishaw 
and what train I should take, so I felt at ease about 
that, but I had to undress before the man and the maid. 
I got into a corner and putting my dressing-gown over 
me, slipped off my things, keeping my leather pocket 
buttoned around my waist as much out of view as 
possible. I got to the bath room closely attended by the 
man and woman. B oth entered with me, but that I could 
not really stand. Gently but firmly I succeeded in push- 
ing the astonished man out of the door and closing 
it on him. I then had the eyes of the woman fixed 
upon me, with all my habits to be attended to before 
going to bed ! As for my bath, for the honor of America 



42 The Old World 

I determined to make it thorough. But how I struggled 
to elude my attendants that evening, how I literally 
fled from my pursuers, — though all in vain, — would take 
too long to tell. I got to bed at last exhausted. My 
mosquito net was as big as a good-sized room, spread 
over a bed of thick quilts on the clean matting. The 
lights were now out and I felt at length safe from watch- 
ful eyes, but, no, the woman came. She took me out 
of bed and carried me along the corridors to show 
me something she thought I had overlooked. During 
this promenade, I picked up several importunate fleas 
and left my bed voluntarily to get rid of them. I was 
then dozing when the woman came again to stir me up. 
I didn't leave the bed this time knowing the fleas were 
lying in wait for me. I listened on my elbow to a long 
and earnest discourse. I tried to fathom its meaning. 
I could see the intentions of the woman were of the best. 
She could have persuaded me to anything, her manner 
was so persuasive, but I couldn't understand what she 
wanted. At last she took up my bag and thrust it under 
my pillow. Was it then thieves against whom she was 
warning me? My room was enclosed on every side by 
shutters which only needed pushing to open. Did she 
wish to warn me that men might rob, even murder me 
to cover up the deed? It was a serious warning, so 
when at last I got rid of my monitress, I buckled my 
leather pouch about my waist and determined to stay 
awake and face the worst. Very shortly after this 
resolution, I fell sound asleep and slept all night. 
I think, perhaps, this fear of thieves is only a tradition 
among the Japanese. I believe in their honesty. This 
hotel is a summer resort by the sea. The guests are 
now gone and the entire personnel have nothing else to 
do but to watch me. I never before was so surrounded 



Through Old Eyes 43 

by clouds of witnesses. They evidently think that I 
need watching, and I am sure they believe that I am 
not entirely sound in my mind. Yesterday morning, a 
note of thanks came from Mr. Hiroki accompanied by a 
lovely present, a cushion cover, partly painted and 
partly embroidered. I was so sorry he spent his money 
on me. He says the children call me the "American 
Grandma." I reached Yokosuka yesterday at 11:30 
and a short rickishaw drive brought me to Madame 
Uriu's. She was very cordial. We had a delicious 
lunch at one, and in the afternoon we took a walk in 
the Admiralty grounds. We discussed General Nogi's 
death and the Emperor's funeral. I told her how I was 
watched by the servants in the Japanese inn. She 
laughed till the tears ran down her cheeks. Madame 
Uriu has received word from the Empress that at the 
launching of the new Dreadnought she must wear for- 
eign dress, and it must be black. She therefore looked 
minutely at my dress for ideas and consulted me as to 
what to have made. I gave her the wisest advice of 
which I was capable, and when a doubt seized me 
as to whether it was too hazardous or erratic, I would say : 
"This is from the American point of view." America 
being a large country, I thought it might lessen my re- 
sponsibility. She kept me till the five-forty train when 
I returned for the night to Dzushi. I took coffee 
with her at five-fifteen and ate more Japanese cakes 
which I appreciate very highly; I enjoyed the day very 
much. She sent me to the station in her own rickishaw 
and charged me to pay nothing, not the slightest fee, 
but this injunction I did not obey. During my long 
and confidential conversation, I asked Madame Uriu 
if she were placed in the situation of Madame Nogi 
whether she would commit suicide and follow her hus- 



44 The Old World 

fcand to the grave. She looked down for a moment and 
then said softly but firmly, "Yes." I was deeply 
impressed by the sincerity of this Japanese woman, 
who was educated in America and has many friends 
there. She told me that General Nogi and his wife 
lived in the simplest manner, he giving almost all of his 
salary to well- chosen charities. When I told Madame 
Uriu that I found the Japanese people the most honest of 
any I had ever traveled among, she related the follow- 
ing incident as told her by Sir Claude McDonald, the 
British Minister. He and his wife were out motoring 
when their machine got stuck in the mud so firmly that 
they were helpless. Luckily for them, the great ship- 
building works of Yokosuka were closing for the day. 
A squad of the workmen saw the hapless pair. They 
went to work, and got the motor on firm ground, but 
refused positively all recompense. With their small 
salaries, money would have been most welcome, but 
their patriotic feeling was stronger than self-interest. 
Madame Uriu is very justly proud of her people. 

I am now writing at the Grand Hotel at Miyanoshita. 
I left Dzushi at nine-fifteen this morning. I gave the 
woman who had borne the brunt of watching me a half- 
dollar. I thought she had bravely incurred the sup- 
posed danger involved so I was generous. I forgot to 
say that Madame Uriu told me she had asked the 
Admiral if she should invite any of his staff to lunch 
with us. He answered: "No, they can't talk, they can 
only eat." That settled it, and I was glad. Before I 
left Tokyo, Miss Matthews of the Y. W. C. A. invited 
me again to supper with another lady from our inn. 
We had such a pleasant evening. Miss Matthews is 
charming. She was lovely to me. There was a 
Scotchman in our inn whom I liked. He lives in 



Through Old Eyes 45 

Honolulu and we both agreed that the Hawaiian Islands 
are the gems of the tropics. I liked the little Tokyo 
inn better and better. When it was inconvenient to go 
out for meals, I found those prepared in the house very- 
appetizing. 

Kobe, 
September 29, 1912. 

My dear Family : 

It rained all day so that I could do nothing on arriv- 
ing at Nagoya except to make myself comfortable m the 
hotel. It was partly European and partly Japanese. I 
took a Japanese room and ate my meals in the European 
dining-room. Hearing some Japanese music, I went out 
to investigate. It was in one of the large rooms near 
mine. I found the maids peeping and listening through 
the shutters. I took one by the sleeve and went along 
the narrow veranda. The landlord soon joined me 
and explained that the gentlemen I saw before me 
were a club of Nagoya citizens who met once a month 
to perform the ancient No-dances. While some mem- 
bers of the society chanted the words from their 
books, one member at a time rose and impersonated the 
action. The theme of these old No- dances is generally 
taken from early Japanese history or legend. I found 
some of the acting very good, but it was impossible for 
me to judge of their music as it appeared to me to be 
only droning and whining, a music so foreign to our 
own that it sounds uncivilized. The second night of 
my stay in Dzushi, I had heard this kind of singing, and 
on going to the room found only two performers. One 
a powerfully built young man with his book of words 
and notes on a stand before him, opposite a lady playing 
quite skilfully on the samisen. It was certainly the 



46 The Old World 

nrost curious performance I have ever seen in music. 
The young man put a wonderful amount of energy into 
his singing, now assuming threatening tones, now soft 
and persuasive ones, and from time to time sobbing 
violently. The lady's part was extremely eccentric. 
At intervals she would give a sharp, resonant yelp, which 
would sometimes send the young man almost into con- 
vulsions of sobs, or else of entreaties, but still the yelp 
would resound so sharp and clear that it did not sound 
like a human voice. What it all meant I could not 
make out, but I could understand the stately move- 
ments of the No-dances and the solemn monotonous 
chanting of the club members. I reclined on a cushion 
on the narrow veranda, having made my reverences to all 
the gentlemen who were seated on the white matting of 
the entirely open room. There is always rice straw under 
this matting so that it is soft and no shoe is allowed to 
tread on it. That night there was a regular typhoon, 
but not until we were all in bed. I had got the land- 
lord to organize a party to see the Geisha dances at a 
tea house. Each of us paid a dollar and something 
for the expenses of a guide, all going in rickishaws. I 
reclined on a mat and being tired slept through the 
whole performance, and all the blandishments of the 
Geisha girls could not rouse me. I chose wiser than 
I knew when I took a Japanese room that night. The 
typhoon burst in some of the windows of the foreign 
part of the hotel and the guests had to be moved after 
midnight. When I went over to breakfast I found 
the doors heavily barricaded against the storm. The 
shock of the wind turned on all of the electric lights 
during the night, so that I had to get up to turn 
mine off, but for this I slept delightfully through a 
severe Japanese typhoon. I heard the crashing of 



Through Old Eyes 47 

falling timbers, and sometimes the wind threatened to 
throw the roof on our heads, but I have always loved 
storms and sleep the better while they rage, except on 
the ocean. Next morning I visited the fine old Daimio 
castle of Nagoya. In the park, trees were uprooted, 
huge limbs torn off, and much of the outside covering 
of the stone walls hurled to the ground — a scene of 
desolation. My next stopping place was Yamada to 
see the Shinto Temples of Ise. I was in a Japanese 
inn there, where some of the inmates had learned a few 
words of English. These welcomed my presence eagerly 
to advance their knowledge of our language, so that 
during my stay in Yamada I gave lessons unremittingly. 
I had one pupil from the outside, the village school- 
master, who no doubt hearing that a tourist was giving 
free English lessons came over for his share. I taught 
from supper till bed-time, having begun before supper, 
also next morning before and after breakfast, work- 
ing very hard. One young man insisted on accom- 
panying me everjrwhere so that I was teaching all 
day. It was hard work, sight-seeing and teaching at 
the same time. It seemed to me during this week 
that the Japanese thought I had come to Japan to 
teach them English. I am resolved, however, that I 
shall not undertake teaching either in Korea or China. 
Combined with sight-seeing it is too exhausting. At 
the Yamada Shinto Temple, religious dances are given 
for which I paid the lowest price — ^five dollars — and 
was the sole spectator. I felt like the crazy King of 
Bavaria who listened alone in his opera house to the 
grandest creations of the German opera, and it cost him 
a lot of money. I could have wished more for my five 
dollars. There were six Shinto priests seated on either 
side of a platform within the temple. There were also 



48 The Old World 

drums atid reed pipes, and eight girls in red silk under- 
wear over which were white kimonos, with bunches of 
red flowers standing up straight from their foreheads. 
A high priest entered, fantastically attired, knelt 
before the altar, read, and made genuflections. He 
departed, then the girls made their genuflections, 
accompanied by the reed pipes, and that was all. Had 
it been on a veranda, I sitting under the trees, it would 
have been less disappointing. Years before, I had 
seen Shinto priestesses dance their sacred dances at 
Nikko, while Sedley and I sat under great, solemn trees 
and looked on with respectful awe at this ancient 
nature worship. The Shinto Temples of Ise have been 
so much favored by the government and are in the odor 
of so much sanctity that no one is permitted to enter 
even the enclosure around them. To say you have 
visited the Temples of Ise is a misstatement. You see 
the tops of them from a distance. I asked the school- 
master the reason of this. I showed him the permits 
I have from the Embassy to see the Mikado's palace and 
the castle of Kyoto and said that I should have been 
admitted at least into the enclosure of the Ise temple. 
He said he could not talk well enough to explain, but 
he went to the college authority in English and brought 
me the following answer: "The Palace in Kyoto is 
admitted to enter and see only to those who have ranks, 
so common people are always to observe it from afar. 
Both the great shrines in Ise are also prohibited to 
enter into their interior, for common people may, it is 
thought, defile the austerity of God." Quite good 
I think for a small village in Japan. I took a pleasant 
trip out to Toba to see the women divers. Murray 
says they support their husbands in idleness by their 
diving industry, bringing up from the bottom of the 



Through Old Eyes 49 

sea shellfish, and seaweed from which a delicious jelly 
is made. He says also they fish or dive four, five, or 
six in a boat, and offer the most interesting spectacle. 
I, of course, resolved to see these remarkable women. 
Murray told besides many other interesting facts 
about them. I took the electric road to Futami, 
where I got a rickishaw for the five miles to Toba. 
There I took a heavy fishing boat with two rowers 
who carried me out to an i.sland where one of the men 
got out and another took his place. I strained my 
eyes in every direction for the wonderful women divers. 
There were many small islands with ships in view, a 
blue sky overhead, wooded mountains all around, every- 
thing indeed lovely, but the divers, where were they? 
I thought I should see boat after boat filled with them 
springing into the sea. At last a boat came in sight 
and, because of his very peculiar dress, I recognized the 
boatman we had lost at the island. One forlorn woman 
sat beside him. He had taken her from her household 
occupations and brought her out to perform for the 
American tourist, and she did perform remarkably well. 
She dived down to the bottom out of sight and for so 
long that I was amazed. She would then bring up 
little shellfish or a curious sea porcupine or a sprig of 
fleshy seaweed. The little porcupines and the little 
shellfish would puzzle over their new environment 
which was all curious enough but it did not at all answer 
to Murray's description. I enjoyed it, however, and 
paid them their price, nearly one dollar. The rickishaw 
drive there and back to the electric tram had been very 
delightful. Whenever I get in a rickishaw I feel parti- 
cularly happy and comfortable. At Nara, I found the 
beautiful park surrounding the temple a scene of desola- 
tion from the storm. My rickishaw man first stopped at 



50 The Old World 

a large pond where women were selling food for the 
fishes. How I wished for my children ! I never saw a 
prettier sight than those beautifully colored fishes. 
They were in such numbers that the waters were thick 
with them. When the food was scattered, they sprang 
on each other's backs and were so happy and beautiful 
and so delightfully greedy and voracious that I should 
have loved to feed them the whole afternoon. The 
food, too, was very cheap and the scene so lively with 
women and children looking on delighted that they were 
moments of pure happiness to me. The park is filled 
with pretty, tame deer which though very fat and lazy 
are still importunate for the tourist to feed them. 
They crowded around my rickishaw and I fed them 
quite a long time. The great uprooted trees, their 
huge branches encumbering the ground, were a sad 
sight. I did not spend the night at Nara which is, 
however, a lovely place. I reached Kyoto at eight 
o'clock that evening. Miss Denton had recommended 
to me a new hotel where I was given a delightful room, 
sunny and airy, hot baths, and European comforts 
with good service. I met an English lady there who 
has been in Japan five years. This summer the hotel 
in which she was staying burned and she lost the col- 
lections of all those years, besides much jewelry. I 
am always afraid of fires in Japan. They are a con- 
stant menace. She is enthusiastic in her appreciation 
of the Japanese. She thinks the missionaries do not do 
them justice because it is so diflicult to convert them. 
I found Miss Neely next day at the Bishop's and she 
accompanied me to the Mikado's palace and to the 
castle. She was admitted as interpreter. Sedley and I 
did not see these buildings in 1897 because the Emperor 
was then in Kyoto. The palace is where the Mikados 



Through Old Eyes 51 

dwelt in ancient times before the western invasion of 
the country. It is severely simple, but in exquisite 
taste. The castle is where the Shoguns lodged when 
on a visit to the Mikado. It is very grand, with the 
richest ornamentation. I stayed only three days in 
Kyoto, not half enough, but I must save time, alas! 
In Kyoto I did the things which I neglected to do with 
Sedley. I spent a long morning "doing" the Hodzu 
Rapids some distance from the city; a whole after- 
noon at Lake Biwa, returning by the canal ; went out to 
see the Emperor's tomb where many thousands of pil- 
grims go daily, some say as many as fifty thousand. 
It is in a simple Shinto temple and the crowd is kept 
at a distance ("thought that defile the common 
people ") , so there is really nothing to see but the devout 
bearing of these common people among whom, I think, 
is to be found the disinterestedness, self-sacrifice, hon- 
esty, and fortitude of the Japanese, those who still follow 
"bushido. " The English lady, whom I met at the 
hotel in Kyoto, told me she once lost a valuable watch 
during a walk. Her servant said : " Let the police know 
and you will get it very soon. " She did so and got it 
without trouble. The peasant who found it took it 
immediately to the police station. She, on another 
occasion, lost her bag with two hundred dollars and 
some valuable j ewelry . B ef ore returning home , she met 
a Japanese girl carrying it to the police station. When 
I took the trip to Toba, I had been told there was a 
tram going there. I repeated "Toba, Toba, " not see- 
ing a rickishaw anywhere. I had the way pointed out to 
me till I got out of the village of Futami, then I realized 
I was expected to walk the five miles to Toba, so I seated 
myself to wait for some passerby. A policeman came 
first. I said, ' ' kuruma ' ' (rickishaw) . He would not leave 



52 The Old World 

me on the country road, but called some children and 
sent them for a rickishaw. They went rapidly, running 
in their zeal to do me a service. When they came back 
with the "kuruma," the policeman was so opposed to 
my giving them a reward I was obliged to desist, though 
they had rendered me an important service. When I 
thought of the begging children of Italy and Spain, I 
concluded the poUceman was right. The French priest 
said to me: "The people who have not come in contact 
with foreigners have fine, sterling qualities." What a 
commentary on our civilization! I hated to leave 
Kyoto. The hotel was comfortable and there was so 
much of interest to see. I wanted to go to Miss Den- 
ton's school which is famous, and she had written very 
kindly to me. The English lady was interesting and 
always glad to give me good advice from her experience 
of the country. I reached Kobe last night and came 
to the home of Miss Cozad, the missionary I met on the 
ship. I enjoyed the supper she had put away for me: 
a baked apple, macaroni prepared with cheese and eggs, 
the best I have ever tasted, and strawberry preserves. 
There were also cheese and fruit, which I did not touch, 
for she wanted me to see the meeting in the big class- 
room, which was then nearly over. This house and the 
Japanese dormitory and class-room are all in a pretty 
garden. There are about eighteen young Japanese girls 
studying the Christian religion in order to go forth 
as teachers. I listened to them sing some hymns very 
prettily and then one brought me an offering of fruit and 
cakes, but I had already eaten too much. 



Through Old Eyes 53 

MiYAjiMA, Japan, 
October 2, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

My stay in Kobe at Miss Cozad's was very pleasant. 
Their delicate home food, frugal but so well cooked, did 
me good. They have taught their Japanese woman 
cook to make the best bread, and to prepare vegetables 
as we Hke them. In fact the missionary ladies are good 
housekeepers. They teach a cheap Japanese cook to 
do the finest work, and these Japanese servants board 
themselves, so that nothing is wasted. I took the 
Monday night steamer, had a stateroom all to myself, 
and slept comfortably. Next morning I was up early 
to see the Inland Sea through which we were passing all 
day. It is like a succession of Swiss lakes, very beauti- 
ful. We got to Miyajima last night, sometime after 
dark, and were met by the launch of this hotel. This 
morning and all night, there has been a rain storm 
and the ferry connecting this land with the main land 
has ceased running. I am on the famous sacred island 
of Miyajima dedicated to Shinto worship, and it is still 
more celebrated in Japanese art and poetry as the most 
beautiful spot in Japan, but it is raining so hard I can 
see nothing. I shall now relate the history of a poor 
Japanese poetess Miss Cozad took me to see, Zako 
by name. Her mother died in her early childhood, the 
father remarried, the old grandmother, a ragpicker, was 
a convert to Christianity and took the child to Sunday- 
school, which made a lasting impression, influencing all 
her Hfe. The father died, the step-mother remarried, 
the grandmother also died. The foster parents deter- 
mined to bring the child up for a Geisha life. They sent 
her to school to make her more attractive. She was 
precocious and learned readily to read and write, but 



54 The Old World 

when she heard 'the life for which she was destined 
she refused and went to work in a match factory to sup- 
port herself. She also attended the night school at one 
of the missions. Hard work and privation undermined 
her health. She became a victim of rheumatism in its 
worst form. The foster parents were miserably poor, 
dwelling in a hovel. She had to lie in a tiny room 
six by six, low and damp. The Japanese do not bathe 
sick people. Their hot bath is for the well members 
of the family who soap and wash themselves in cold 
water beforehand and then soak in the luxurious 
warmth. In winter they bathe of tener than in summer 
to warm the body. They must keep this hot water 
clean; it is their source of heat, their luxury. They 
do not bathe the sick, they say it is bad for them. Poor 
Zako lay in squalor and filth for more than ten years, 
tortured by disease. She has no power of movement 
from her arms down, only restricted movement of the 
arms and neck. The poverty-stricken foster parents 
found themselves with this burden on their slender 
resources. This girl, who was connected with themr by 
no ties of blood and whose obstinacy had thwarted all 
their plans, was now a helpless invalid for Hfe. They 
grew soured and quarrelsome. She had to listen to their 
complaints and quarrels, and bear, with what fortitude 
she could, the many afflictions which disease and 
poverty bring. Her one bright memory of happiness 
was the old grandmother taking her, a little girl, to 
Sunday-school. One day when the foster parents were 
wrangling louder than usual, a Japanese gentleman passed 
by and stopped to ask the cause of the disturbance. 
The woman said : "You have only to come in here to see 
if we have reason to complain. " She opened the door 
of the tiny room and there in squalor he saw poor Zako, 



Through Old Eyes 55 

unwashed and almost incapable of movement. He 
reported the case to the Ladies' Bible Society at Kobe, 
and they soon brought help. When Zako was made 
neat in person and surroundings, she was admitted as a 
member of the church. She had really been a Christian 
from early childhood with her old ragpicker grand- 
mother. Afterwards, when supplied with writing 
material, she had to learn over again to write with the 
crippled fingers. They are literally crumpled up as I 
saw them. With the contributions which came in from 
those who heard her story, she has bought a simple 
little Japanese home, where her foster parents are eager 
to serve her. She is now the bread-winner, and they 
in their old age are supported by her. The old man has 
a face so wrinkled and so toothless that it is a curious 
study. He gathered some fine figs in the little garden 
for Miss Cozad and me. When Zako had learned to 
write with her twisted fingers, she wrote out the poems 
which must have been the only solace during those ten 
years of torture. Her book has met with success. 
When she first bought the modest little house, the side 
on which her room is situated had no building near it. 
In a mirror she had placed before her, opposite the 
window, she could see the pilgrims coming down the hill. 
Being obliged to He in a particular way, she could not see 
the pilgrims except in this mirror. Now this empty 
lot has been built up, but she is happy in her writing. 
Mrs. Daniels of Chunju, Korea, wrote she would send 
a surrey for me to the station and trusted coolies in an- 
other conveyance for my luggage. I was sorry to dis- 
illusion her about the baggage. I am afraid she will 
think me in the indigent class, and nobody wants to 
make new acquaintances among them, but I was forced 
to write her that I felt sure the surrey would suffice 



56 The Old World 

for me and my luggage, since I was in the habit of taking 
it in the same rickishaw with me. I had to disillusion a 
friend on the ship in pretty much the same way. She 
told me she had an insurance on her personal effects, 
including jewelry, for which she paid two hundred dol- 
lars a year, and intimated that I should do well to follow 
her example. I was greatly flattered, but could not 
conscientiously sail under such false colors. I informed 
her that I had two suit cases and a shawl strap, no other 
luggage; that I possessed only one piece of jewelry 
which, however, did not belong to me, had been lent 
for the trip by my sister ; that if I had two hundred dol- 
lars to spare I should use it in acquiring something to 
insure and not in insurance policies. She was dis- 
appointed in me, painfully so, but my conscience was at 
ease. I cannot conscientiously pose as a multi-million- 
aire, much as my vanity at times might tempt me. 
Besides the consequences might be disastrous. 

All family letters from Korea were lost. 

Mukden, Manchuria, 

October 14, 1912. 

My dear Friend : 

My first stopping place in Korea was in the charm- 
ingly situated South Presbyterian Mission at Chunju, 
twenty miles from the railway station at Riri in the 
southwestern part of the peninsula. I found the 
missionaries doing splendid work, and I could not but 
recognize that apart from their religious teaching, they 
were centers of civilization and of help to the natives. 
I went to the church early enough to see the Sunday- 
school. The building is rather rudely constructed of 
native wood but has a certain artistic grace which is 



Through Old Eyes 57 

very pleasing. There, separated by a curtain the 
length of the church, were assembled women and girls 
on the one side and men and boys on the other. I sat 
on a chair among the women who were seated on the 
matted floor, resplendent in their fresh Sunday gar- 
ments, their faces shining with cleanliness and happi- 
ness. It was so peaceful a scene, the assembly so intent 
on the words of their teacher that I felt m^/^self filled 
with enthusiasm for a work which brought so much 
happiness to this gentle and tractable people. The 
churches, the schools, the houses of the missionaries, the 
dispensary, and the hospital have employed hundreds 
of them in useful labor. The lessons of sanitation, of 
cleanliness, the introduction of fine stock, of fine fruits 
and vegetables have also been of great value. The 
Koreans never milk their cows, they work them still, 
though the beast of burden "par excellence" is the bull 
which is consequently as gentle in his manners as a lamb. 
The farmer's children play around him and even tumble 
over him in frolic, without harm. One sees long strings 
or these animals, loaded with enormous burdens, travers- 
ing the highways. The Koreans abhor cheese and even 
butter, though the latter to a less degree. It is very 
difficult to get good butter there as it is all imported. 
The missionaries have introduced good milk cows, 
and I think in time their example will not be lost on their 
flock. Dr. Thomas H. Daniels has charge of the hospi- 
tal in Chunju. He was forced to go home some three 
years ago in order to submit to an operation. He had 
hardly recovered from this when he went to Philadel- 
phia to take a three months' special medical course, also 
a summer medical course at Harvard. He says now 
what he learned at these two institutions has more than 
repaid the mission for all the expense of sending him and 



58 The Old World 

his family home, for he considers himself so much more 
efficient. He is a man of very high character and 
attainments. In Seoul, I talked to many persons about 
the famous conspiracy case, trying to get an impartial 
opinion on a subject which is profoundly agitating the 
whole Christian community of Korea. Some of the 
missionaries assert that because the accused men are 
Christians, they could not have entered into a con- 
spiracy to assassinate the Japanese Governor-General. 
This attitude of mind is so unreasonable that it can 
only do harm. Should the fact of being a Christian 
bring immunity from prosecution for crime in Korea 
any more than in any western land? The European 
missionaries have held themselves aloof from this 
affair. Unfortunately the Americans have identified 
themselves with it, and; as it is a political question, this 
is much to be regretted. Their sympathies have been 
greatly excited for the accused and this has biased their 
judgment, I think. Prince Ito, who was assassinated, 
gave five thousand yearly to the Y. M. C. A. in Seoul. 
It was unfortunate that his assassin should have been 
a Christian, a Catholic, but these crimes are purely 
political. The fact is that in the history of Oriental 
peoples, notably in that of Japan, assassination and 
murder have held a place of honor, and murderers have 
been venerated as popular heroes where the motive has 
been a patriotic one, or fidelity to their chief. When 
that most brutal murder of the Korean queen was 
perpetrated, Miura, its instigator, was looked upon by 
the Japanese people as a hero because they believed 
him to have been actuated by djevotion to Japan. The 
horror of the civilized world has been, I believe, a 
lesson to the Japanese. They have had, too, a more 
serious one in the hatreds engendered by this crime, for 



Through Old Eyes 59 

the murdered queen is now regarded as a national hero- 
ine and martyr with a cult established to her memory. 
The leader of the accused in the conspiracy case gave 
as a reason for his confession that as all the others had 
confessed, he thought it best to do so too and thereby 
secure a lighter sentence for the band. He did not even 
assert, as some of the others did, that he had been put 
to torture to force a confession. This complete blind- 
ness to the sanctity of an oath renders any testimony 
from such a source untrustworthy. No doubt, the 
Koreans like all primitive peoples, do not regard the 
murder of a political enemy as a crime, and this atti- 
tude of mind, which accords with popular sentiment in 
Japan, must be taken into account in judging of their 
conduct. But the Japanese hold truth to be sacred in 
itself. Their national heroes are? made of very different 
stuff to these Korean conspirators. The missionaries 
are having astoundiag success in Korea. A young man 
who has but lately commenced Sundky-school work 
told me that his class had increased from eighteen 
to ninety-eight within a few weeks. The Severance 
Hospital in Seoul with its splendid new medical school 
is an honor to its founders and to the Americans. 

White is not so universally worn now as in '97 though 
it largely predominates. Both in winter and summer, 
the people wear cotton clothing. In winter, it is quilted, 
Korea has now become a conquered province and 
no doubt, many sad changes have taken place, but 
eventually I feel sure Japanese rule will be recognized 
by all as a blessing to a country which was certainly 
cursed by one of the weakest and most corrupt govern- 
ments on earth. The farmer can now count on the 
fruits of his toil. No one is afraid to show evidences 
of prosperity. The old venal officials, both high and 



6o The Old World 

low, have given place to a purified service. No country 
on earth has shown itself more sensitive to a just foreign 
criticism than Japan, and she is trying earnestly to give 
Korea a wise and beneficent government. I noticed 
but little of the old-time methods of the Korean labor- 
ers which struck me as being so comical years ago. An 
ordinary long-handled shovel was then worked by five 
persons. There were two holes on each side of the 
shovel into which cordte were fastened. Four men held 
the ends of these cords while the fifth held the handle. 
As the latter was much afraid of dbing more than his 
share of the work very little dirt was taken up at one 
time, and then all five men heaved it out with a great 
show of effort. I saw this shoveling going on both in 
Chemulpo and in Seoul with five and six men handling 
each shovel in '97. I saw the same work going on the 
other day with three men instead of five and six. I 
think, therefore, the day of one shovel, one man, is 
approaching in Korea. Looking at these Korean work- 
men recalled vividly to my mind an incident of fifteen 
years ago. Near Chemulpo laborers were engaged in 
digging a cutting for the new railway to Seoul. My 
son, young, vigorous, and enthusiastic, was seized 
with the desire to teach them how to work like 
Westerners. Throwing coat and vest on the edge 
of the cutting he jumped in and began shoveling out 
earth with amazing zeal and expenditure of strength. 
The Koreans were charmed with their new teacher and 
encouraged him by their admiration to persevere in his 
lesson, having always a fresh spade to offer when he 
bent the one he was using. When, at last, heated and 
tired out but delighted with the impression he had made, 
he climbed out of the ditch, he found his fine, new gold 
watch and chain gone beyond recovery. The Koreans 



Through Old Eyes 6i 

cotild also give him a lesson. One of the pleasantest 
excursions from Seoul is to the tomb of the martyred 
queen and her faithful ladies m waiting, distant some 
five miles from the city and crowning the flattened 
top of a beautifully rounded hill. It is a tumulus, 
like that of the Manchu Imperial tombs near Mukden, 
enclosed around the base by a low stone wall and 
encircled by life-sized statues of animals, with two 
huge warriors in front, all made of glistening white 
granite. They are rudely sculptured but very effective, 
guarding that primitive tomb in its lovely natural 
setting. At the foot of the hill is the shrine. As I 
approached it, a religious service was being held, and 
the long table within was literally loaded with the 
choicest Korean viands. At the conclusion of the 
service, the dishes were all rem.oved from the temple. 
The spirits of the dead had partaken of the taste 
of the food and the more substantial portion of the 
feast was now destined for the priests of the shrine and 
tomb. I noticed one worthy gentleman who began 
to eat as soon as he got out of the temple, for the food 
was really so tempting he could wait no longer. I was 
told that relatives of the murdered queen prepared and 
sent these feasts in her honor. The story of that tragic 
night of massacre of defenseless women will long 
remain a blot on the Japanese annals, and every visitor 
to the martyrs' tombs will read with fresh horror the 
ghastly details of the bloody crime. Those poor 
frightened victims "were dragged around by the hair 
and slashed to death" by merciless soldiery, who were, 
however, obeying orders. Viscount Miura and all the 
members of the legation were recalled by the Japanese 
government, but I understand they received no other 
punishment, as the court failed to convict. 



62 The Old World 

At Ping Yong, I found another flourishing mission 
settlement, Methodist and Presbyterian. I was shown 
over the women's and children's hospital of the Metho- 
dists by the two lady doctors, who told me they greatly 
needed an assistant. Many Korean girls who have 
finished their studies are demanding more and more to 
be taught medicine, but there is not a medical school 
for girls in the whole land. The missionaries are doubt- 
ful of the wisdom of sending the girls to the United 
States for instruction. They think that years in a 
foreign land are calculated to unfit them for the home 
life which is so different. However this may be, the 
necessity for a medical school for women is a real one. 
Ping Yong is an interesting place. The most decisive 
of the land battles between China and Japan was 
fought there in 1895. The Chinese troops were thor- 
oughly disciplined and made a splendid fight, but 
nothing could resist the reckless valor of the Japanese. 
It was in the river at Ping Yong that the whole crew of 
the U. S. Schooner General Sherman was massacred by 
the savage Koreans in 1866. The chain from that ship 
hangs still under the picturesque east gate of the city. 
Some of these murderers, who still survive, are now 
gentle and earnest Christians devoted to their teachers 
and spiritual guides. Before quitting the subject of 
Korea, I should say something of their hats which 
strike every traveler as being the oddest on earth. The 
men are now beginning to wear foreign hats to some 
extent so that the standing and profession of each 
individual is not so distinctly announced by the hat as 
in former times. However, one sees still the most 
unique head coverings. One can tell when a young man 
is engaged to be married, when he is married, when in 
mourning or a widower, whether a farmer or a citizen, 



Through Old Eyes 63 

and so on, for the Koreans have still a regular language 
of hats. 

Port Arthur, 

October i6, 1912. 

Dear Friend: 

I came down here to satisfy my conscience as tourist, 
not expecting to find any very great pleasure in viewing 
battle grounds and the sites of former forts. But when 
I stood on 203 Metre Hill beside those two monuments, 
where the ground had been literally plowed and dug 
up by bursting shells and exploding mines, when I saw 
the fortress-crowned heights with their sides deeply 
furrowed by soldiers' trenches, the huge cannon half 
embedded in the debris, gun carriages torn to pieces by 
shot and shell, and huge fragments of concrete lying 
where terrific explosions had thrown them, read the 
details on the spot where those marvelous feats of 
valor had been performed, I felt that I should not 
willingly have missed what I was then seeing, nor do I 
believe that any one can stand amid those scenes and 
read that story with heart unmoved by deep emotion. 
Thousands of dead had strewn those heights. At the 
last day of attack on 203 Metre Hill, six thousand 
Russian corpses were counted. It had been taken and 
retaken several times during the preceding days and 
whole regiments of Japanese had been mowed down 
like grain by the reapers. The same scenes of hand-to- 
hand conflict were enacted in and around every fort. 
There are now five monuments at Port Arthur to 
commemorate the heroes of that momentous struggle. 
Two of them are on 203 Metre Hill. Another, a high 
tower, on a hill commanding a magnificent view of the 
harbor, while not far from this another stands over the 



64 The Old World 

cremated remains of 20,000' Japanese soldiers. Then 
in the center of the Russian cemetery rises a beautiful 
memorial monument to the Russian officers and men 
killed during the siege — they were nearly 15,000. This 
Russian cemetery, its tombs and beautiful memorial 
monument, enclosed by fine walls, were all erected by 
the Japanese government, and the monument unveiled 
in the presence of both Japanese and Russian generals. 
The magnanimity of the Japanese during that war 
was only equaled by their valor and self-sacrifice. The 
military museum is of wonderful interest, but I have no 
time to dwell on the tragic objects I saw there. I was 
treated with much courtesy and shown over the build- 
ing by a Japanese captain who had lost a leg in the 
siege. I met also at the museum the editor of a local 
Japanese paper to whom my guide gave much informa- 
tion concerning me, of a highly flattering nature no 
doubt, but as I could not understand what he said I 
could not control his statements. I knew I had excited 
his admiration by the rapidity with which I had made 
the ascent on foot of 203 Metre Hill. The editor asked 
for my card and told me he was going to bring out an edi- 
torial about me in the next morning's issue of his paper. 
I considered this honor so very great that I not only 
gave my own name but that of my place of residence so 
that some reflected distinction might be shed on it also. 
I presume now that the inhabitants of Port Arthur and 
Dalny were electrified this morning by the exciting 
news of my visit, as depicted by their talented editor. 

Peking, 
October 27, 1912. 

Dearest Family: 

I find Peking wonderfully improved since I was here 
with Sedley in 1897. I go everywhere in a rickishaw, 



Through Old Eyes 65 

which to me is a delightful way of getting about. They 
are cheap, of course, but do not compare in that respect 
to trams. There are none of the latter in Peking, and as 
distances are very great they are much needed, but this 
belongs to those cases of paying dear for cheap labor. 
When Sedley and I were here, tourists were not allowed 
to visit the Altar and Temple of Heaven. I have been 
to both and was greatly impressed by them. The altar 
is a grand conception. Here the Emperor came three 
times a year to worship. He spent the previous night 
in the Temple of Abstinence in prayer, then, before 
sunrise, in sacrificial robes he repaired to the Altar of 
Heaven, ascended the three broad circular marble 
terraces, each enclosed with a carved balustrade, and 
on the top, under the dome of heaven, offered up prayers 
for his people, while bullocks were sacrificed below. 
The Temple of Heaven is in an adjoining enclosure. 
It is a circular pagoda standing on a high marble 
platform, very beautiful in ornamentation and ninety 
feet high. When I visited it, the day was cold and 
windy. On entering I saw two ladies seated on rugs 
eating their lunch. I didn't wish to be indiscreet, but I 
certainly was glad to hear my name called. They 
proved to be two missionaries from the American Pres- 
byterian Mission, and they invited me to share their 
well-prepared lunch. I had refused to bring anything 
with me, thinking I should not be hungry after a good 
breakfast, but the cold day changed my feelings, and I 
enjoyed the repast very much. I do not think it right, 
however, to eat in that beautiful temple built for the 
worship of the creator. The Chinese have ceased to 
take care of their fine monuments, but it doubtless 
mortifies them to see them improperly used by foreign- 
ers. The Altar of Heaven has weeds growing be- 



66 The Old World 

• 
tween its marble paving slabs, and the ground in its 
two enclosures is covered with dry weeds looking for- 
lornly neglected. The first of these enclosures is a huge 
square, the second circular. Yesterday I visited the 
Yellow Temple. It reminded me in its outlines of the 
famous Taj Mahal. It is built on a marble platform with 
four finely carved marble colimins at each comer, while 
from the center rises a magnificently carved white 
marble dagoba. Before and behind this superb struc- 
ture is a marble archway richly carved. All this is 
being allowed to go to ruin. The Japanese occupied 
this temple during the siege of Peking in 1900 and 
they broke the heads and legs from the carvings. The 
Chinese look upon it as having been desecrated. There 
are always lively street scenes in Peking — Manchu 
ladies in rickishaws with their striking head ornaments 
and their faces painted in the ugliest possible fashion. 
I am told these ladies are the very pink of propriety, 
though they take an extraordinary way of showing 
it. Not only are their cheeks and lips a flaming color 
but they daub paint all around their eyes. They are 
too ugly for words, but one must respect their immacu- 
late virtue. I had to get a pass from the Embassy to 
visit the new siunmer palace eight miles from here. 
The day was the worst I have had in Peking, with a 
cold drizzling rain. I had two coolies who carried me 
in an unbroken run. This summer palace is not the one 
destroyed by the Allies in i860, but is in sight of it. It 
is a superb assemblage of pagodas, temples, summer 
houses, and so forth, rising on terraces from the shores 
of a lovely lake. The roofs of yellow, green, and blue 
tiles give so much color to the buildings. I was alone, 
but joined for a while some French soldiers, one a petty 
officer, who were extremely pohte, and I enjoyed talk- 



Through Old Eyes 67 

ing to them. At every place one visits, there are innu- 
merable gates to be passed through and innumerable 
doors to be opened so that one always ends by giving 
out quite a sum of money. I now provide myself with 
copper coins and give five or ten coppers each time, to 
the intense disgust of gate- and doorkeepers, but even 
thus I do not get off cheaply, for a dollar goes quickly, 
so greatly have doors and gates been multiplied at all 
places visited by tourists. They demand twenty cents 
each time, but I am obdurate now and give five or ten 
as the occasion seems to warrant. At the great Lama 
Temple, they got nearly two dollars from me by their 
vociferous demands. The American Ambassador told 
me he only gave ten cents each time. I went one after- 
noon for a walk on the walls along the south side of the 
city where the legations are situated. The top of the 
wall is about thirty feet wide and the same height. I 
stopped to ask a young German lieutenant a question, 
and we had quite a long conversation and argument. 
He maintained that each nation must have its decline 
and fall after having risen to its greatest height of 
power. I denied that history went on repeating itself, 
which he as stoutly maintained, because, I said, the 
circumstances could never be precisely the same. When 
a country is now invaded its inhabitants are no longer 
put to the sword and its dwellings razed to the ground, 
but I added "according to your theory, your country 
has now nothing more to look forward to except to a 
decline and the extinction of its power, for Germany at 
this time is the strongest nation in Europe." He 
answered: "Yes, but first England's fall must come." 
And this conviction seemed to console him and to turn 
his pessimism into exaltation because "England's fall 
will come first. " After leaving this Teuton, I encoun- 



68 The Old World 

• 
tered a lonely lady and began a conversation with her. 
She spoke French so imperfectly that I asked in German 
if she were Russian. "God forbid," she answered, 
and then she began to pour out her hatred of Russia 
and the Russians, but she talked so excitedly and her 
accent was so strange to me, added to the fact that the 
path was very rough over the stone slabs, that I could 
not properly understand all she said. It grew late, and 
the woman became so violently agitated that I was 
afraid she might, in a fit of madness, plunge us both 
over the wall. She said she would gladly tear to pieces, 
morsel by morsel, the Russian who had killed her 
brother. I was greatly relieved when we got down 
safely at a gateway on the western side. There I 
found a rickishaw to bring me home after a walk of 
several miles. But I must now tell you of my interview 
with Yuan Shi Kai, President of the Chinese Republic. 
I wrote a note to our Ambassador, Mr. Calhoun, stating 
my reasons for wishing an interview with the President, 
and adding that I had followed his career as closely as 
I could in the press and in recent books about China, 
and that in many respects I admired him very much. 
I carried this note to the Embassy and sent it in to Mr. 
Calhoun. In a short time I was invited into his study. 
I had taken the precaution of putting Bishop Guerrey's 
letter of introduction with my note and you know 
how warmly that is worded, indeed it is far too flattering. 
Mr. Calhoun began by saying, "You have placed me in 
a dilemma, Mrs. Ware. I should love to gratify you, 
but you have asked for an interview with the busiest 
man in China, perhaps the busiest man in the world at 
this moment. He is so overwhelmed with work and 
under such continual strain that all his friends remark 
how visibly he is aging. For these reasons, I have been 



Through Old Eyes 69 

obliged to refuse to recommend tourists for interviews 
with him." I interrupted here to say: "But, Mr. 
Calhoun, you have just read my note, and its last words 
were, ' if your impulse leads you to refuse my request, 
follow it, and I shall think no more on the subject.' I 
see I have been indiscreet. Let us say no more about 
it." "But," he answered, "I should like to make an 
exception in your case, and I am thinking how best to 
proceed in the matter. I shall write to Yuan's Secretary, 
Colonel Tsai Ting Kan, and tell him of your desire to 
see the President, and we shall hear what he has to 
say." With this satisfactory solution I left Mr. Cal- 
houn, and not long after my return, I got a letter from 
him enclosing an introduction to Colonel Tsai Ting 
Kan. I went next day to present this and saw the 
Colonel, who said Mr. Calhoun had written to him 
about me, requesting the favor of a short interview 
with the President, and that I should be received on 
Saturday at five o'clock (yesterday). Yuan Shi Kai 
now resides in a large building which before the revolu- 
tion was used for a school for the sons of nobles. It 
seems to be a very strong place surrounded by a high 
exterior wall, and the gate or doorway into the interior 
court could serve against any possible surprise attack. 
I returned then yesterday at five o'clock according to 
appointment, but it seems that I can never do anything 
exactly in the right way. The Chinese as well as the 
Japanese attach great importance to certain social 
forms and ceremonious usages. At home I have my 
family to remind and guide me in all matters of eti- 
quette, but now that I am thrown on my own resources, 
my pathway is strewn with those sins of omission and 
commission which I do not seem to be able to guard 
against. I forgot entirely to take my visiting cards. 



70 The Old World 

• 
I no sooner reached the big doorway to the interior 
court than the officer on duty demanded my visiting 
card. I searched thoroughly but vainly for one. They 
were lying on my table, where I had been busy writing 
up to the last moment. I could only say, "Colonel 
Tsai Ting Kan," deeply mortified at my carelessness. 
I was taken to a reception room on the ground floor 
where one official after another came in the futile 
attempt to obtain my visiting card. I ostentatiously 
searched my bag to convince them that I had none. 
At length as I kept repeating the Colonel's name, I was 
conducted upstairs into a big reception room where 
Colonel Tsai Ting Kan advanced to meet me. Of 
course, I did not recognize him, I never can recognize 
people, and then, too, I was in a state of utter confu- 
sion and demoralization about the visiting cards, so I 
asked the Colonel himself for Colonel Tsai Ting Kan. 
He said in a surprised tone, "Why, I saw you yester- 
day. Don't you know me?" I replied with a happy 
inspiration, "I am trying to pronounce your name. 
Chinese names are very hard for me to pronounce." 
Now, I do try to be strictly truthful, but there are 
moments when self-preservation is imperative. The 
Colonel then thought he was mistaken in my not 
recognizing him, and asked for my card! Oh, those 
wretched cards! How they tormented me! A base 
feeling of hypocrisy suggested that I search my bag 
again, but this I rejected and said with an accent of real 
despair, "Colonel Tsai Ting Kan, I am but an old 
woman. Forgive my forgetfulness. I have forgotten 
to bring my visiting cards." He carried me then into 
the President's private reception room where we found 
him alone and waiting for us at the door. Yuan Shi 
Kai shook hands with me. He is a man of striking 



Through Old Eyes 71 

appearance, really remarkable looking, short and thick, 
dressed in a lavender silk mandarin gown, with a black 
satin sleeveless jacket. His head is big and round, with 
closely shaven gray hair, very fine large, black eyes, 
perfectly round, by no means almond-shaped, also 
very fine teeth. The deep lines in his face make him 
look older than perhaps his age warrants. I was seated 
on a sofa before a small table on which were two stands 
heaped with bright colored cakes, also three glasses 
filled with champagne, with tea also for each person. 
Colonel Tsai Ting Kan interpreted fluently. I said I 
found Peking wonderfully improved since '97 under the 
present administration, that I regretted the continued 
presence of foreign troops to guard the legations, as I 
felt a sincere interest in China. The President told me 
with much animation of his speech to the public a few 
weeks before, in which he asked the people if they 
understood why foreign troops were quartered in 
Peking, and told them plainly it was because their 
government had not been able to protect foreigners, 
and that those troops would remain there until the 
Chinese themselves gave adequate protection to them. 
I said Mr. Calhoun had told me how overwhelmed he 
was with work, but that he should remember no ruler 
could do everything himself; that I had been struck 
with the fact in readmg history that the greatest rulers 
were those who gathered the great men of the nation 
about them and worked through them ; that he should do 
likewise and thus wisely spare himself; that China had 
great need of him, her strongest man, for there was but 
one Yuan Shi Kai, and the destinies of the nation were in 
his hands. He answered that the old officials would 
not, nor could not, serve his purposes, the new ones 
were untrained, that he alone was able to train them 



72 The Old World 

so that everything depended on him, and he could not 
possibly spare himself, but was forced to labor un- 
remittingly till his task was accomplished. I think he 
spoke truthfully, for his animated tones indicated deep 
conviction. I tried to make him laugh by saying that 
all America and Europe enjoyed his himior when he 
answered the summons from the court by saying that 
his leg was not well enough to permit him to come. He 
did not laugh much at that. He is careworn, but his 
eyes can blaze when he gets excited. They remain 
young and his teeth are very fine. All at once I was 
seized with profound pity for this man who, for fear of 
displeasing the Ambassador of a great and friendly 
power, was giving his time, his priceless time, to an old 
woman who could have no possible interest for him, 
while his ante-room was filled with people on important 
business of state, who, I was told, were waiting from 
one day to another for the chance of an interview. The 
Chinese certainly respect old age, more than any other 
nation, I believe; but the old women must be their own 
grandmothers and stay at home, where they belong 
and not those of an uncongenial people who wander 
the world for their own inexplicable purposes. These 
reflections which flashed through my brain filled me, 
as I said, with such profound pity for this much har- 
assed man that it took away all pleasure in the inter- 
view. He paid some nice compliments to the United 
States and raised his wine glass. I did so and drank to 
his health. Now it would have been wise had I taken 
my leave then and there. The interview had been as 
successful as I could have expected. The President had 
spoken with much animation and did not appear to be 
bored, but I am not wise, and besides I was misled by 
the gaudy colored cakes. They reminded me of those 



Through Old Eyes 73 

I saw at a Korean feast to which I was invited years 
ago. They were called Korean bread, though not 
resembling that article in any outward particular. 
Now I had always regretted not tasting them. These 
Chinese cakes were not offered to me, and Colonel 
Tsai Ting Kan had at last to inform me that the inter- 
view was at an end. Here was a second humiliation for 
which I was far more responsible than for the first 
which was caused by my forgetfulness, while this came 
from a decided lack of tact and judgment. Yuan Shi 
Kai shook hands again, and the Colonel accompanied 
me downstairs as far as the outer door of the court. 
He was so cordial in his manner that I felt comforted. 
He said I must write to the President when I got back 
to America, and I declared that I felt the warmest 
regard and admiration for him. The Colonel spoke with 
enthusiasm of his chief and asked if I didn't think him 
superior to Li Hung Chang. I was flattered at this 
question, and said I thought Yuan Shi Kai stood higher 
morally, as he seemed to be inaccessible to considera- 
tions of money. The Colonel then said his chief had 
never taken a bribe and was a poor man. I believe it, 
too, for he has such a frank, honest, fearless look in his 
fine, wide-open eyes. I asked the Colonel if there 
were no way to spare the President some of the drudgery 
of his office, as he appeared to be working himself to 
death. The Colonel said that he himself was on such 
close duty that he had not seen his family for months. 
There was so much work to be done. We had now 
reached the door of the court, and the Colonel asked: 
"Where is your carriage?" Heavens, had I made 
another mistake ! I had scarcely time to say, ' ' I came 
in a rickishaw " when my man appeared, my coolie, tall, 
gaunt, ragged. It seemed to me at that moment that I 



74 The Old World 

• 
had never seen such a scarecrow, that that particular 
coolie was more ragged even than the men of Falstaff's 
celebrated company. I turned to speak to the Colonel, 
but he had vanished as though the earth had swallowed 
him up. I had caused him to lose face before the young 
men of the guard, and in China that is a serious thing. 
How I regretted not having ordered a carriage! How 
willingly I should have done so had I appreciated its 
importance, but I love the airy little rickishaws, so safe 
and so comfortable. I choose them rather with regard 
to their having rubber tires and clean cushions and do 
not pay particular attention to the dress of the coolies. 
They are all so unkempt and so ragged. Dejected 
and depressed that I could never do anything exactly 
right, I got into my really comfortable rickishaw and my 
scarecrov/ took me in an unbroken run back home. 
I asked my hostess one day if her servants were Chris- 
tians. She said she had tried them but found them 
objectionable. They wanted so much consideration for 
being Christians and were less reliable and truthful. 
Perhaps we have gone to work in China and Japan 
along wrong lines. Instead of grafting our teachings on 
their fine moral code of reverence for ancestors and 
parents, we force them to abandon this sheet anchor 
of their morality, and they lose their moral fiber in 
throwing off their traditions and customs. They lose 
also the influence of family ties and the restraints of 
village public opinion. After all, this ancestor worship 
is not worship in any true sense of the word, but only 
reverence for their dead and living parents. I went 
to the British chapel this morning to see the spot 
where the Americans had been penned up during 
that terrible siege of nearly two months. My host- 
ess and her husband are very interesting when they 



Through Old Eyes 75 

tell me of their experiences during that memorable 
time. 

London Mission, Peking, 
November 3, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

We had three consecutive days of fine weather last 
week of which I took full advantage. First I went up 
to Nankow, at the foot of the great Pass of that name, 
the Pass through which for thousands of years the cara- 
van traffic between China and its great tributary 
provinces has been maintained. The railway now goes 
through the Pass, but the caravan traffic seems to con- 
tinue just the same. The highest point in altitude 
reached by the railway is 1900 feet above the town of 
Nankow. The great wall is built along this Pass and 
can be seen almost continuously from the train. I 
got to Nankow a little before twelve and ordered a 
donkey that was gentle and easy, with a boy to guide me. 
The donkey, when he appeared, looked ridiculously 
small, the boy also, but both proved themselves valiant 
and dependable creatures, though the donkey mani- 
fested at first an almost invincible repugnance to parting 
from his home. The weather was glorious, the air crisp 
and invigorating, the mountains beautiful, and I had a 
fine afternoon, though the fourteen-mile ride, going 
and returning, became in the end a veritable torture, as 
I had not ridden for many years. I ate my lunch 
under the superb five-span, white marble archway, a 
really grand monument, of very great beauty. The 
halt gave me a half -hour's rest. This archway of 
sculptured marble is the beginning of the Holy Way or 
avenue of mourning statuary. The great marble ani- 
mals face each other in couples on each side of the way 



76 The Old World 

• 
alternately standing and kneeling. There are also 
some kings and priests elaborately sculptured. When 
we reached the temples and tombs proper, I followed 
Mrs. S.'s advice and paid the gate opener what I thought 
just and was firm in resisting his demands. All the 
priests conducted me over the temples, halls, and pavil- 
ions, without rancor over my obstinacy in resisting their 
exactions. I was extremely polite, and that is one great 
essential in China. I was the only visitor on that lovely 
afternoon. My donkey boy spoke a little English 
and proved very satisfactory. The donkey returned 
with such hearty good-wiU that he did not need the 
stimulus of blows, but I had to dismount for the last 
mile or two, and holding on to 'my good little guide 
we made our way in the darkness till we came to some 
water. Then I was very glad the donkey was no bigger, 
for I was so stiff it was hard for me to crawl up on his 
back. I was the only guest in the hotel, and yet I had a 
very fine dinner in courses, and a breakfast next morn- 
ing at six o'clock, so that I could take the construction 
train to the head of the Pass. On this train I was the 
only foreign passenger. In spite of the frosty air, 
I stood on the platform and looked at the stirring life in 
the Pass, and at the great wall climbing the mountain 
summits and creeping along their ridges. We read about 
that gigantic work but no one can realize it without 
seeing it. It seems to me the most stupendous thing 
that human beings have ever done. The railway runs 
for a long distance parallel to the caravan route, so I 
could see the trains of loaded camels and donkeys. 
The weather was faultless. I took a guide at the head 
of the Pass who carried me to a gateway in the wall 
where I ascended to the top and had a long walk along 
its winding course up to the highest summit of the 



Through Old Eyes "n 

mountains at that point. I did not think I could have 
climbed with such ease after the afternoon of the day 
before on the donkey, but I was pleasantly excited by the 
beauty and rarity of the scene and the exhilarating air. 
I got back to Nankow at twelve where a servant from 
the hotel brought a fine lunch to the train, which I was 
to eat at leisure, leaving the crockery in the car. On 
my return that afternoon, I took a trip outside the 
Peking waUs to a fine pagoda. It is the most picturesque 
one I have seen, tinted in the upper part. I found a 
garrison of soldiers there who refused at first to let me 
into the enclosure, but on handing out my visiting card 
I was admitted. As Saturday (yesterday) was also a 
superb day, I explored various places on the other side 
of Peking, the great Roman Catholic Cathedral which 
kept the Boxers at bay during the two months' siege 
where a few French priests and a few French soldiers 
with the native converts were saved through their own 
heroism. I do not care for Gothic architecture in the 
Orient. It seems out of place, but the interior of that 
Cathedral is lovely, a perfect forest of slender fluted 
columns spreading out their dark tracery over the white 
background of the lofty ceiling. The effect is capti- 
vating, for all the contrasts offered from the outside 
are shut off from sight and you are left alone among 
those beautiful columns. I saw, too, the entrance to the 
Forbidden City where the Emperor resides. It is an 
exquisite creation of Oriental architecture. I visited 
some fine pagodas or rather dagobas, which are different. 
After all the exploring inside the walls, I started out 
to the old summer palace, the one looted by the Allies 
in i860. Sedley and I tried to get in there in '97 but 
were refused admittance. Now everything is in 
ruins. Yet at comparatively little expense, the dam- 



78 The Old World 

age could have been remedied at the time the war 
ended, but nothing was done and evidently the bricks 
and stones have furnished a quarry, for one sees 
now in these gardens only heaps of debris. I have 
read that this old summer palace contained the most 
exquisitely harmonious mixture of Oriental and West- 
ern architecture, a creation of loveliness embodying the 
best of both styles. As I stood among those ruins and 
saw innumerable fragments of exquisite marble carvings, 
capitals, columns, pedestals, all kinds of sculptured 
ornamentation, I marveled that such remains should 
have been left neglected when the stones and brick 
were carried off. I believe it was in consequence of 
the hatred and disgust of western barbarism in destroy- 
ing all this beauty, that these creations of western art 
were treated with such contempt and disdainful neglect. 
The artificial watercourses, streams, lakes, and basins, 
formerly fed by mountain streams and enclosed in stone 
or marble embankments are now filled with rushes. 
I had an old man as a guide who pointed out faithfully 
everything and it took me nearly two hours to see it all. 
I am constantly contrasting the stupidity of the 
Chinese coolies with the intelligence of the Japanese. 
The latter can all read and write. Even the boys in 
Japan of ten years can do so. I had only to show the 
rickishaw man the address in Japanese and I could be 
sure that he would find the place. When I get in a 
rickishaw here, the first thing the coolie does is to bolt off 
at high speed without the slightest idea where I want 
to go. Useless to show him an address, he cannot read. 
I stop him by shouting and then pronounce the words 
of the address in Chinese. Yesterday I went through 
the Methodist College for girls and boys, though it would 
be proper to say young men, for they are mostly grown. 



Through Old Eyes 79 

I was much impressed by the magnitude of the work 
done by the Methodists in teaching. They were 
obHged to refuse three hundred students this year, but 
they are to build new class rooms and dormitories soon. 
In one of the class rooms, I gave an account to the 
students of my interview with Yuan Shi Kai which 
seemed to interest them immensely. 

I went to the Calhouns' Wednesday evening at five 
and had a pleasant visit. When I gave Mr. Calhoun an 
account of my interview with Yuan Shi Kai, he straight- 
ened up in his chair when I reached the point where the 
President raised his glass of wine, and looking intently 
at me he exclaimed: "You rose then and took leave of 
him, did you not ? It was the signal. " "I am awfiilly 
sorry to say I did not. I had to be told to go. You did 
not tell me the glass of wine was the signal to leave, and 
my unaided judgment was not able to suggest it. I 
thought, too, the red and white cakes were to be handed 
me. " When I had related everything that took place, 
Mr. Calhoun, with the instincts of a lawyer, said: "Mrs. 
Ware, this is a confession." I was still lamenting my 
stupidity when I got up to leave. There was a charming 
young Italian Countess present. She followed me out- 
side, saw me into my rickishaw, and said : ' ' Mrs. Ware, 
don't worry about your mistakes. You have had your 
interview, that is the important thing." That woman 
is angelic ! I don't know her name, should never recog- 
nize her if I saw her again, but in my memory she will 
remain angelic. To-morrow Mr. S. will accompany me 
to the Chinese Parliament. Mr. Calhoun has sent me 
two tickets. The more I see of the Chinese, the more I 
think that this people can never be materially improved 
and uplifted till the principle that a man's first duty 
is to have offspring is changed. All classes marry os 



80 The Old World 

■ 
young and so many poor children are brought into the 
world that the population is always too dense, in spite 
of aU the devastation wrought by famine, floods, and 
pestilence. With this ever-increasing population, the 
struggle for existence becomes acute. The people live 
on the edge of starvation, and it takes very little vari- 
ation from the normal crop to plunge them into it. If 
they could be prevented from early marriages and the 
population kept within reasonable bounds, there would 
be hope for the future. The French peasants refuse to 
have more children than they can provide for and in this 
they show their wisdom, but in the Orient it is a mat- 
ter of religious belief that the first duty of human beings 
is to have progeny. In consequence, the people witness 
so much distress that they become callous to it. They 
know that it is impossible for them to relieve it so they 
become indifferent to human suffering. It is indeed the 
condition of their own happiness. The country is mak- 
ing remarkable advances but to what purpose if there 
are too many for the labor market and the food supply. 
The Chinese are dirty, in strong contrast to the cleanli- 
ness of the Japanese. They have to buy their water 
in Peking, so that alone would prevent their washing. 
None is wasted on this process. The coolies are a 
ragged, dirty lot. The French with their scanty popu- 
lation might be an easy prey to their more populous 
neighbors, but they are drilling a fine African army to 
fight their battles. In Africa the climate and soil favor 
a teeming population, but in this part of China the 
winters are rigorous. 

I went to the American Methodist Church yesterday 
evening and the music recalled a memory of my early 
childhood when I nearly wept my eyes out over one of 
their hymns which I have never heard since : "I have a 



Through Old Eyes 8i 

father over yonder, I have a mother over yonder, " and 
so on till aU the members of the family had been in- 
cluded, besides friends. I was overcome with the 
poignant thought that each of the singers had suffered 
these dreadful afiflictions, and I can never forget my 
grief. 

Hankow, 
November 7, 19 12. 

My dear Family: 

The day before I left Peking, Mr. S. went with me to 
the Chinese Parliament. The debates were carried on 
with great decorum. I often read the daily reports 
in the Peking papers and was struck with their modera- 
tion and good sense. I had a pleasant trip down with 
a missionary lady from London. She had been a guest 
of Mrs. S. She had the misfortune to lose her ticket, 
which was only second class, but had cost her twenty- 
five dollars in gold, she sa:id. This made the poor 
woman almost ill. Indeed she was quite distracted 
when the conductor and inspector insisted that she 
must pay again. I felt much sympathy and was quite 
unhappy about her. At last she went off to lie down 
and I in search of someone to talk to. I found a young 
American from Maryland with whom I entered into 
conversation and told him the lady's misfortune. He 
put his hand in his pocket and quietly drew out a first- 
class ticket saying, "My sister was too ill to use this. 
Give it to your friend. " I didn't wait but ran back to 
the lady at once. She could hardly believe her eyes 
on seeing a first-class ticket replace the second-class one 
in so unexpected a fashion. Her headache speedily 
left her and I was greatly relieved. I had helped 
pack her things the night before and she had quite 



^2 The Old World 

« 

an expensive wardrobe and seemed self-indulgent, but 
still I should have helped her pay for the other ticket. 
You all laugh at me for making acquaintance with 
strangers. You see what good came of it in this 
instance. 

The manager of this hotel is a young Portuguese. He 
is very polite and obliging to me and caUs me "mother, " 
with that extreme friendliness of the South European 
races that one hates to repel. I went in the rain to the 
steam-boat office to get a ticket for to-night's steamer. 
I asked the clerk to teU my rickishaw man to carry me 
near the burnt ruins of the Chinese native city. You 
may remember that the Chinese mob rose here and, 
aided by the soldiers, they slew all the Manchus, men, 
women, and children, looted the houses, and not only 
burnt the Manchu but the Chinese city as well. I am 
told the soldiers and mob were so bent on looting that 
they made little distinction between Manchu and 
Chinese property, only no quarter was shown the Man- 
chus. The soldiers had not been paid for a long time 
and this probably caused much of the disorder. It was 
the cause of the mutiny in Peking of Yuan Shi Kai's 
army when he had to hide for a while. I read only a 
day or two ago of the soldiers in a northern province 
rising and looting a city, killing all who opposed them. 
They had not been paid. Money is sorely needed by 
this government. 

I was much interested in L.'s account of Roosevelt's 
speech in New Orleans. I do pray he was not elected 
but it is too late to pray now. I should have prayed 
more before the election. 



Through Old Eyes 83 

Nanking, 
November 12, 1912. 

My dear Family : 

I left Hankow in a pouring rain, glad to get away from 
the assiduous attentions of the hotel manager. He did 
not even use the personal pronouns in talking to me, 
but always said, "Mother, Mother." He would not 
leave me in peace to write or read the papers or an 
interesting book Mr. Warfield gave me. I tried to get 
some information out of him about the burning of the 
native city of Hankow, the wealthy Chinese city. 
I heard, on what purports to be reliable authority, 
that the general commanding Yuan Shi Kai's well- 
drilled troops posted a cordon of soldiers around the 
doomed city and forced the fleeing inhabitants back 
into their burning dwellings, thus making a dreadful 
holocaust, inspiring terror in all republican strongholds 
which were practically at the mercy of Yuan Shi Kai 
when he went over to the republican cause. He did 
this, my authority assures me, because he saw the 
country was overwhelmingly republican, that is, anti- 
Manchu, and the rebellion was bound to break out 
again and again until it could no longer be con- 
trolled. Well, as I said, this Portuguese could give me 
no information, never had heard that the Chinese 
hated Manchus and the Manchu dynasty. He called 
his compradore to verify my words, and when this man 
assured him that I was correct the manager told all 
the servants in the dining-room that "Mother" knew 
everything. I was glad to get away from him. He 
showed me a photo of a "lovely English lady" who 
he said was on her way to China to marry him. I hope 
she may bring also a mother-in-law for his sins. 

The weather was dreadful on the steamer; rain, fog, 



84 The Old World 

• 

and snow accompanied us so that the boat had to tie up 
for hours at a time, and we reached Nanking after one 
o'clock the third night. I went up to the hotel through 
the cold, clear night, the snow lying everywhere. My 
rickishaw man had to pound on the door a long time 
before we gained admittance. The proprietor had 
conceived the idea that we were some low characters 
trying to raid the establishment. In my excitement, I 
left my nice silk umbrella in the rickishaw, and of course 
the coolie did not return it, though I had paid him, 
the hotel-keeper said, eight times too much. I had a 
comfortable night and the next day came out here to 
the South Presbjrterian Mission feeling sure I should 
find that I had mutual friends with some of them. I 
came to the house of Dr. Shields and Mr. Stewart who 
live together, and was received most cordially by the 
two families. They insisted on my staying to dinner. 
That meal was a really southern one and I felt I had 
got to the right place. Mr. Stewart and Dr. Shields 
have been living here a long time. The former was a 
reporter for the Associated Press during all the troublous 
times of last year. He had easy access, as a reporter, 
to Dr. Sun Yat Sen. His accounts of the revolution in 
Nanking are perfectly thrilling. I may write some of 
them later, and do not destroy my letters, for I am 
resolved to leave a printed account of my travels for my 
grandchildren. Such a book would have little interest 
outside our family, but I want my children to follow 
Granny around the world. John said with such re- 
proach in his tone : ' ' Granny, I thought you were going 
to take us all around the world with you. " 

Mr. Stewart is wonderfully interesting. He reminds 
me of Dr. Daniels of Chunju in Korea, so fair minded 
and accurate, very moderate in his judgments. As 



Through Old Eyes 85 

China is not on a gold basis, the currency is subject 
to all the fluctuations of a silver standard. At present, 
silver is rising in price, so I do not get two Mexican 
dollars for one as I did in Japan. Another curious 
accompaniment of the silver standard here is that 
if you change your Mexican dollar into small money, 
you get not only five pieces of twenty cents each, but a 
ten cent silver piece and some coppers besides. If 
you change into copper only, you get a hundred and 
thirty cents for a dollar. I have not asked, but I feel 
sure this is because the small silver coins are not as pure 
as the dollar. The brass and copper cents are, of course, 
worth still less. In buying postage stamps, I have to 
give four coppers for a three cent stamp, thirteen for a 
ten cent stamp. These coppers are too heavy to carry, 
otherwise they would save me much in small transac- 
tions, and I have noticed that everybody wants to be 
paid in silver dollars and not in fractions of a dollar, 
they, however, giving only the numerical nimiber of 
cents in change. There is much difficulty in China 
over the currency. In Peking, I was told by the 
banker that Peking notes would not pass in the south, 
so I had a load of heavy silver to bring on my trip. In 
Hankow, I was told the same thing, that their notes did 
not pass lower down the river, so again I had to load 
myself with silver dollars. In Nanking, there is no 
bank, but Mr. Stewart has promised to cash a traveler's 
check through one of the merchants. I feel quite 
domesticated here in this most friendly household of 
two southern families. Dr. Shields is from New Orleans 
and his wife is a Virginian. Both the men are very 
busy. They are engaged in teaching, and the faculty 
is so small that double or triple duty is put on each 
professor. Mr. Stewart has, however, offered to 



86 The Old World 

• 
accompany me this afternoon. As he certainly needs 
the fresh air and relaxation, I have accepted this offer. 
He is a delightful companion, so intelligent, and he 
knows China so well. The Chinese night watchmen 
parade the streets, beating a gong with bamboo sticks. 
Sunday night at the hotel I had a front room and I could 
hardly sleep for their noise. 

For dinner to-day we had the most delicious wild 
ducks shot by Dr. Shields. He is going out this after- 
noon for pheasants. All this game he finds within the 
city walls. Last Sunday afternoon, I had my coolie 
carry me through the ruins of the Tartar or Manchu 
city, which the revolutionists destroyed last winter. It 
is the picture of desolation, as dead as Pompeii, for the 
Chinese have pulled every piece of woodwork out of 
the houses. The bricks lie in heaps and the chimneys, 
where there are any, are as mournful as funeral monu- 
ments. The Manchus were killed and plundered. 
Few indeed could have escaped with their families. 
A friend of Mr. Stewart's counted thirty dead bodies 
in one pond where they had thrown themselves. Mr. 
Stewart often passed through the Manchu city before 
the revolution. He says the pension every Manchu 
received from the state was his ruin. They spent their 
time smoking opium and gambling, did no work, were 
slovenly in their dress, utterly worthless, and degenerate. 
There were few exceptions to this rule. The pension 
furnished them a living without work, and dissipation 
became their sole occupation. They were as over-ripe 
fruit ready to fall at the first shock. 



Through Old Eyes 87 

18 QuiNSAN Road, Captain MacKinnon's, 
Shanghai, November 21, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

I left Nanking last Saturday after a perfectly lovely 
visit. I hated to leave, wanted to stay much longer in 
such an interesting place. We had game almost every 
day on the table. I, myself, saw wild pheasants 
walking about in the mission gardens. Dr. Shields 
went out any afternoon and brought in teal, mallard 
and black ducks, besides pheasants and doves. He 
told me he had brought in three deer this autumn, a 
much smaller variety than ours. All this game exists 
within the walls of Nanking, and a sportsman can go 
out late in the afternoon and be very successful. I 
parted from the two families as though they had been 
lifelong friends, all including the children were in the 
garden to see me off. Mr. Stewart was very entertain- 
ing, always ready to talk to me when in the house, but 
he is a very busy man, not only doing his own teaching 
of many hoiurs daily, but giving an additional course in 
Greek in the University. This is a Union affair though 
started by the Methodists. My hostess here has three 
children who are so perfectly obedient and good that I 
admire her greatly as a mother. She was a medical 
missionary before her marriage to the Scotch captain, 
and she was saying to me this morning that in her medi- 
cal practice she had remarked that people made them- 
selves ni very often because they had no self-restraint, 
giving way to nerves and discontent, because they could 
not have their own way. So she determined to bring 
up her children in self-restraint and in obedience, 
explaining to them that she, herself, their mother, could 
not have the things she wanted for lack of means, 
and that they too must obey cheerfully and resign 



88 The Old World 

« 
themselves to self-denial. I have noticed at table when 

she denies them a second helping to dessert and fruit, 
they acquiesce quietly and cheerfully. They are very 
affectionate to their mother, and there is so much happi- 
ness and harmony among them that one never hears a 
voice raised to a loud key. I should not forget, while on 
the subject, to add a word about the mission children in 
Nanking. They were strikingly good looking and both 
good and intelligent. I was dining one day at Mrs. 
Price's, and going into the Doctor's study was sur- 
prised to see their little boy writing on the typewriter. 
When I spoke to her of it, she said the little fellow 
still younger could write on it also, that the two older 
boys in America at college had learned it very young, 
and they had attributed, in large part, their success 
in college to having learned as children to write on the 
typewriter. The Stewarts told me afterwards that the 
Price boys were really remarkable. I shall certainly 
get a typewriter for my children. 

I am invited to-morrow to lunch at Dr. Meyer's, a 
lady doctor to whom Miss Ethel Moore gave me a letter 
of introduction. She has charge of a hospital here, 
but is going to marry soon the young vice-consul at 
Foochow. I called at the Girls' College of Miss Helen 
Lee Richardson, to whom Miss Moore also gave me a 
letter of introduction, but she was engaged in a very 
important conference with some Chinese gentlemen, 
trying to persuade them to donate the land which is very 
dear around Shanghai for new and more complete build- 
ings farther out. The college is too cramped ; they want 
to give it up for a day school, and move the boarding 
school farther out. They get from home $ 100,000 for 
the new building, but they want Chinese men of in- 
fluence to give the land. Among the men present at the 



Through Old Eyes 89 

conference was the former Minister to the United States, 
Dr. Wu Ting Fang. I, therefore, did not see Miss 
Richardson, but am to go to-morrow afternoon to see 
her and the school. It is a Methodist institution. That 
denomination has extremely important and flourishing 
colleges for girls and boys as well as universities. They 
cannot accommodate the students who flock to them. No 
compulsion is put upon any one to become a Christian, 
nor do they wish any convert except with the consent of 
the parents, all of which I highly approve. Miss Moore 
gave me also an introduction to Miss Bonnell who is 
known all over Shanghai for the good she has done. 
When she appears in court to protect poor girls who 
have escaped from houses of ill fame, the magistrates 
listen with profound respect to anything she has to say 
and they adopt her suggestions. She has devoted her 
life to rescuing girls and slave children from wretched 
and evil lives. She is now in America. No one here 
mentions her name without some word of encomium. 
She is literally looked upon as a ministering angel. 
I went yesterday to see her work. The inmates are 
in three houses in the same compound. No wages are 
paid the first year, but the girls are taught to read 
and write and to work. The second year they earn 
wages for fine sewing and embroidering. The girls 
are often married from this establishment, and as it is a 
universal custom in China to pay for a wife, thirty- 
seven dollars are demanded for the institution and 
forty dollars for the girl to procure a trousseau. As 
these terms are considered very cheap, the girls are 
not infrequently demanded in marriage by the bargain- 
loving Chinese. I hear that some of these marriages 
are quite happy. In case of abuse, the girl has a right 
to return. Divorces are sometimes singularly hard to 



90 The Old World 

procure. They have a girl in the house (which is called 
the "Door of Hope"), who was affianced to a man 
whom she hated. He lives with her mother and is a 
brutal person. He will not free this girl, as he possesses 
the papers certifying to the betrothal which give him 
a legal power over her. They have tried to bribe this 
man to give up the papers, but he refuses their offers 
and prevents her marrying any one else. She dares 
not leave the Home for fear of his capturing her. Per- 
haps Miss Bonnell, on her return, can find a remedy. I 
hear she is very frail, only the spirit within keeps up 
the feeble body. I am very sorry the letter to Dr. 
Morrison, political adviser to the Chinese government, 
should have reached me too late to be delivered while 
I was in Peking. Day before yesterday I went on a 
drive for the whole afternoon, first to a very fine 
pagoda some miles from the city and then through 
the fashionable quarters of the Concession. The 
houses are very handsome. Dr. Wu Ting Fang has a 
palatial residence. It is a sign of the times that such 
men, who are not Christians, are in consultation with 
missionaries about increasing their teaching facilities 
and enlarging their college buildings. They are called 
upon to subscribe to a work which is now recognized 
by all intelligent Chinese as beneficent. 

While I was out yesterday getting photographs for 
the children. Dr. Wu Ting Fang called to see me, 
and I was dreadfully sorry not to have been at home. 
If I had more time, I should write and ask him for an 
interview. When I called at the American Consulate, 
Dr. Wilder, our Consul General, on hearing that I knew 
his friends in Madison, notably the Elys, asked what he 
could do for me, and offered introductions to Dr. Sun 
Yat Sen and Dr. Wu Ting Fang. These he wrote 



Through Old Eyes 91 

immediately and not in merely perfunctory phrases. 
I felt quite grateful to him, and incidentally to my good 
friends, the Elys. Had I acted wisely, I should have 
written to each of these Chinese gentlemen asking 
for an interview, but without any previous intimation, 
I called on them. Dr. Wu Ting Fang was not at home. 
Dr. Sun Yat Sen was dreadfully busy, but on reading 
the letter from Dr. Wilder he came out, a very good- 
looking man, resembling a South European much more 
than a Chinese. I stayed only a few minutes in view 
of the fact that I was interrupting business. He is 
working night and day on railway construction in 
China, projecting and building, as far as his funds will 
permit — a hard-working man and believed to be 
entirely disinterested. 

Saturday Morning, 23d. — I had a lovely visit to 
Dr. Meyer and after lunch I was taken over the hospi- 
tal. In the kitchen, only straw is burned for fuel, — • 
rice straw. At meal times, it takes two women's time 
to push the straw in so as to maintain an even heat. 
All the food is boiled and the great boilers are sunk 
in masonry so as not to lose a particle of the heat 
from the blazing straw. The range is semicircular and 
those who feed the flames sit inside the semicircle. All 
the boilers have heavy wooden tops to keep in the heat. 
Coal dust is burnt for the hot- water tanks as hot water is 
needed all the time. This is an Episcopal institution. 
The ward for tuberculosis patients is on top of the house 
with sunshine and air on all sides except on the north. 
There is no heating, as the Chinese are not accustomed 
to heated houses, but the patients have hot water in tin 
vessels containing at least three quarts. There is 
a large ward devoted to the children of criminals. 
When the parents are condemned to imprisonment, the 



92 The Old World 

« 
children, if sick, are sent to the hospital, so I saw little 
creatures with all sorts of ailments, but they have 
a broad, sunny veranda to play in when well enough, and 
good care is taken of them. Dr. Meyer told me I could 
easily go out and see the fine Episcopal University and 
Girls' High School some miles from the city, and 
then get to Miss Richardson's college by five o'clock, 
in time for the entertainment there. I thought all this 
would be highly interesting, so I went out to St. John's 
University (Episcopal), situated in extensive and 
beautiful grounds. Behind the University buildings 
are the girls' dormitories and class rooms. The matron 
carried me over them. They have 170 girl boarders 
and are crowded. Fortunately they have grounds 
enough. More time is given in this institution to Eng- 
lish than in any other I have yet seen in China — three 
hours daily. The girls understood all I said to them 
and were a most intelligent lot. While I was in one of 
the class rooms, they all began laughing suddenly. I 
asked: "What on earth are they all laughing at?" 
"At your talk," answered the matron. I think this 
shows a remarkable knowledge of English, for I was not 
speaking to them. There were no fires anywhere but 
the Chinese wadded dress is said to be very warm, 
and as there are no fires in Chinese houses, they are not 
accustomed to them. There is an orphanage attached 
to the High School and the orphan girls are often mar- 
ried off from this institution. No money is demanded 
of the man except $75 in silver as an outfit for the bride. 
This is about the sum demanded in the ' ' Door of Hope, ' ' 
but $37 is retained for the institution, the rest is used 
for the trousseau. I was deeply interested in all I saw. 
I wanted to go over the University for the young men, 
for the President had offered to conduct me, but I feared 



Through Old Eyes 93 

it would delay me too long, so I asked Miss Dodson, 
the matron, to explain to the coolie where I wanted to 
go, telling her to be very explicit, but she said: "He 
says he knows exactly where you want to go," and I, 
with all my experience of Chinese coolie stupidity, 
started. The upshot was that I was carried everywhere 
except to the right place, and as it was very cold in the 
night air, I was glad to get home at last, much disap- 
pointed at not being able to keep my appointment at 
Miss Richardson's, where I am sure I should have been 
greatly entertained. 

Hongkong, 
November 27, 1912. 

My dear Family: 

To-day when my eye fell on the newspaper, I saw it 
was Pete's birthday. It touched me deeply to think of 
the dear children at home and the cake with its eight 
candles. I had a very smooth sea trip down to Hong- 
kong on the big Lloyd steamer Yorick, 17,000 tons. I 
really enjoyed it; the cookmg very good. I like Ger- 
man cooking when it is at its best. A young man who 
sat near me at table was so cultivated that I enjoyed 
talking to him. At one of the meals, he was very silent 
and I said, merely as a joke: "How long have you been 
engaged, and when are you to be married?" He left 
the table saying: "I shall see you on deck." When 
I came up, he asked how I knew he was engaged. I 
assured him I knew nothing, not even his name ; that I 
was only making conversation because he was so silent. 
But he was now so deeply stirred that he felt impelled 
to talk. He went on to tell me that his engagement 
had just been broken off in Shanghai, that he did not 
blame the girl (sly girl !) but others. During the talk I 



94 The Old World 

• 

asked him about his career. He spoke with great 
bitterness of his ill luck, but the worst came when, 
after having failed on account of illness, he went 
home to his mother for consolation and comfort, and 
she showed she was not glad to see him. His voice 
was choked when he said this and he tried hard to re- 
press the tears welling in his eyes. I was full of sym- 
pathy, but tried not to show it too much. I wanted to 
give him courage for the new venture he was going into 
with a friend who has some capital, but he answered 
sadly that he was indifferent both to success and failure, 
as his mother had been indifferent to him, and his 
fiancee had abandoned him. I could see next day 
that he was sorry he had bared his inmost sorrows to a 
stranger, so I talked of other things. He is very fond of 
literature and poetry. His health was the cause of his 
want of success in more than one venture. Malaria 
drove him from the rubber plantations of the Malay 
Peninsula. He is now going to a fine climate in South 
Africa where some years ago he lost the savings of years 
through locusts. He told me how the government had 
combated the pests until now they are no longer a 
scourge to be dreaded. It was extremely interesting. 
He told me when he was farming there he went to help 
his friend to cut his wheat with a fine new reaper. 
They had the machine ready for use when they went 
in to breakfast, but when that meal was finished the 
whole field of wheat was covered and swept by swarms 
of locusts. The government could not, at first, force the 
Boers to kill the pests. It was against their ideas that 
any human force could combat a visitation of Heaven. 
So at first the government paid very liberally for every 
bushel of dead locusts, teaching the Boers how to kill 
them, furnishing them with the means also. But for 



Through Old Eyes 95 

the succeeding years, this kilHng was made obligatory, 
the government still continuing to teach the farmers 
how to do it effectively. At a central station, tele- 
graphic dispatches come from every point where a 
locust appears. The place is marked on a large map 
and forces are sent out immediately against them till 
no one dreads this scourge of former years. Coopera- 
tion under government direction has achieved this 
result. He is now returning to the fine climate of 
South Africa and will go into the wool and sheep 
industry. I do pray he may succeed. He had in his 
pocket a copy of Kipling's poem, "The Derelict." I 
asked him to read it to me, but it was too much for him 
in his state of mental tension. He evidently looked 
upon himself as a derelict. 

Victoria Hotel, Shameen, 

Canton, November 30, 1912. 

My dear Family : 

I came over here yesterday and am quite comfortably 
installed in this hotel. Perhaps it might interest you to 
hear some of the talk of a missionary I met Thursday in 
Hongkong. He was an American medical missionary and 
told me that he and his wife had gone to the southwest 
of Kwangtung province, in which Canton is situated, 
as pioneers. They were negotiating for the purchase 
of a building spot for the Mission when a friendly 
native warned them not to buy that particular tract of 
land, saying it was infested by malign influences and 
they would never have any luck there. They closed 
the purchase, however, and acquired the land. They 
noticed the villagers were very friendly and smiling and 
learned that they were particularly pleased with the 
high buildings being put up because, it was explained, 



96 The Old World 

• 
the village would then be protected from the evil spirits. 
These latter had been so malevolent that for years no 
student from that village had been able to pass in any of 
the examinations and they were hoping that the high 
buildings were going to change the situation by circum- 
venting the feng-shui. After some months, the doctor 
received a silk fan from some unknown donor which 
he placed on his mantelpiece. A Chinese friend com- 
mented on this fan one day and took it down to look 
at it. The doctor said: "I do not know who gave me 
this. Never heard of the man. ' ' The Chinaman replied : 
"I can tell you. He is the student who has succeeded 
in passing his examination this year. The fan is a token 
of gratitude." Now in this case, a fortuitous event 
strengthened the Chinese in their superstition. 

When I reached the Canton station yesterday, I 
found the hotel porter ready to bring me up. "We took 
rickishaws and were fairly started when he said : ' ' Would 
you prefer the launch and go by water?" I thought 
the water would be more characteristic, so we got out, 
but oh the poor rickishaw coolies. They were furious 
with the porter, but ten cents apiece appeased them, 
and we got in a sampan rowed by a woman who had 
her family on board, for it was her home. She trans- 
ferred us to the launch and was made happy by ten 
cents, the regular price being five. The launch was 
fine, but in a short time, it transferred us to a small 
boat which landed us at the steps of this foreign con- 
cession, which is an island, and here all consuls and 
foreigners reside. It is a lovely green spot and its 
insular position is its protection. To go to the city, one 
crosses a bridge guarded by a strong gate and some 
police, mostly East Indian soldiers, who police most 
of the ports of China. 



Through Old Eyes 97 

December ist. Sunday Morning. 

Yesterday morning I went out for a stroll in the 
streets. The landlord sent a boy with me. Never 
in my life have I seen such scenes of swarming human- 
ity as in the streets of Canton. From the moment of 
arriving at the station or at the ship landing, one is 
surrounded by a vociferating, surging, seething mass of 
himian beings. I suppose that is what makes Canton 
dangerous for foreigners. Where there are such num- 
bers, excitement is easily produced, and a frenzied mob 
raised. I found the people not unfriendly. They 
have respect for age at least. Yesterday morning 
with a guide and two chairs; I started off for a day's 
sight-seeing in the city. A lady belonging to another 
party, hearing me ask the landlord to have the top 
taken from my chair, came up to me and whispered not 
to do so, for I should have slops from the windows 
thrown upon my head. I preferred to take the risk. 
I am in the habit of taking what other people call risks 
but which do not seem so to me. So the top was taken 
off and my only fear was a deluge of rain which threat- 
ened all day but did not fall. I saw all the regulation 
places, was fleeced pretty well in all the temples and 
indeed everywhere else, but not so much so as though I 
had permitted the guide to do the paying. I insisted 
on ten-cent fees everywhere instead of twenty, which he 
thought the proper thing. At the Taoist monastery, 
where I arrived at midday, I took some fruit out of 
my bag, to eat, but found that the hotel manager 
had had a big basket of provisions prepared for me, 
with several kinds of meat, eggs, different varieties of 
cake, and two bottles of mineral water, besides fruit. 
I had eaten a fine breakfast and was not hungry. The 
guide looked so longingly at it that I gave him some of 



98 The Old World 

the meat, but he could not understand why I did not 
wish to be generous with other peoples' things. He 
wanted me to give it all to the coolies. I gave them 
instead ten cents each for their midday meal, ample in 
China, and I put everything else back in the basket to 
be returned to the hotel. I have taken a fancy to 
bananas over here, since an American lady told me that 
they agreed perfectly with her children in China but 
not in the United States. She thought them more 
wholesome over here. During the day, I often met 
the other big party and greeted them cordially each 
time. My greeting was returned in the same spirit 
except by the lady who had been so friendly as to warn 
me about a possible inundation from Chinese windows. 
She was very stiff, visibly disappointed that she did not 
find me in a dripping condition. At the Taoist monas- 
tery, I met an old Chinaman who spoke English well. 
He had traveled over Europe and America for many 
years as a merchant and agent for other merchants. 
He wanted to talk to me, so, after hearing that I had 
been in Peking, he asked anxiously if there was to be 
war with Russia. The papers had reported war fever 
in Canton against Russia on account of Mongolia. I 
told him there could be no war because China had no 
money for war, that the Chinese should keep quiet, and 
not put any difficulties in the way of the government 
which had the hard task of putting the country on its 
feet. I said that China had had its feet bound for so 
long that the task was a difficult one. This figure 
struck the old man as a fine argument. He under- 
stood so well the disadvantage of the bound feet of 
the women. Foot-binding is going out rapidly. The 
Parliament is passing some foolish sumptuary laws 
which it cannot enforce about the people's dress, 



Through Old Eyes 99 

but I believe in the main they are making good 
progress. 

Later. In spite of the rain, I went in a sampan 
around the island. I asked for one in which a woman 
and her children lived. I certainly got the children, 
but whether they belonged to the woman is doubtful. 
The hotel keeper ordered them and they were on hand. 
Although it rained all the time, I stood out in front 
with the woman who rowed. We took three quarters 
of an hour to go around the island, the woman poling 
instead of rowing. The manager insisted on sending 
a boy with me though I told him it was by no means 
necessary, that I felt freer unaccompanied. But 
with all his friendliness, I have to obey him I notice. 
He said: "The boy shall cost you nothing, but he must 
go with you. " The singular thing is that a lady travel- 
ing alone and who sits next me at table asked the 
manager to let a boy accompany her about the streets 
for a short walk. He answered: "I cannot do so. 
That would spoil the guides' business. '•' Now I have 
tried twice to get out without a boy, but the manager 
sends one with me. Nothing is charged, but of course 
I give him a fee. 

FRAGMENT OF THE FIRST LETTER FROM MANILA. 

December 8, 1912. 

Well the three days' trip over was a horror. None of 
the large vessels make the crossing in this direction. 
My steamer was 5000 tons and it rolled like a plaything 
of the waves, while we passengers were the sorriest look- 
ing lot you ever saw. Before landing, it became calmer 
and we could pack our things and breathe freely. 
There were to me no interesting people on board, 



100 The Old World 

mostly Spaniards. Some excited discussions took 
place between the captain, aided by a very loud-talking 
personage (only liberal in his religious convictions) 
and the priests and other Spaniards. The latter 
grew very excited when there was any question of our 
war with Spain. One who was listened to with great 
respect declared that Sagasta was the cause of the war, 
that he deceived the people by publishing a list of the 
fleet, which was all on paper and did not exist. He said 
if Canovas had not been killed by an anarchist before 
the war, he would never have permitted it. This 
Spaniard knew nothing of the spirit in the United 
States, which I think was greatly in favor of war and, 
no doubt, McKinley shared this sentiment. So Spain 
was doomed to humiliation. There was also a big 
argument as to whether there was as much liberty in 
Spain as in the United States. I said I thought there 
was, but that the Spaniards were so ignorant and 
superstitious they made no use of their liberty. When 
I was in Spain, I was much struck with the liberty of 
speech and of the press, but also with the degrading 
ignorance and superstition of the masses. I think the 
Spaniards over here have got very tired of hearing 
the Americans brag. I sympathize with them in this, 
but I told them that the bragging of to-day was noth- 
ing to what it would be when the canal was finished. 
I tried to prepare them for the worst. On landing, I 
was met by the landlord of this quiet hotel, where I am 
very comfortable. He was sent to meet me by Mrs. 
Martin Egan, wife of the proprietor of the Manila Times. 
I had written to her on the strength of an introduction 
from Miss Ethel Moore. Almost as soon as I arrived, 
Mrs. Egan came in her elegant automobile and took me 
for a tour of the town. She is young, handsome, and 



Through Old Eyes loi 

very agreeable ; has no children. She is also a well-known 
and popular magazine writer. 

Manila, 
December 12, 1912. 

The FiHpino national hero is Rezal, but I am told the 
Americans discovered him for them. They unearthed 
the story of his struggle against Spanish despotism, 
his unselfish exertions to improve conditions on the 
islands, and his speedy martyrdom. He was in his early 
thirties when the Spaniards stood him against a wall 
and shot him. Spain dreaded his intelligence and his 
influence over his countrymen. On the spot where he 
was shot, a monument has been erected. I attended 
the ceremony of its unveiling. I got there very late, 
but seeing vacant seats on the tribune, I quietly worked 
my way up and took one. True, they were given by 
card, but I saw no reason why I should stand while 
they were empty. I enjoyed the music and heard the 
speakers, whereas the other inmates of this house, who 
went early, saw and heard nothing. 

Manila, 
December 13, 19 12. 

The climate here is fine, but too warm for long walks. 
Distances are great in Manila and the sun always hot, 
but in the shade it is delightful. The Filipino women 
have attractive faces which are more European than 
either the Japanese or Chinese. They wear usually 
voluminous skirts of brilliant colors long enough to 
touch the ground. These skirts have, generally, a deep 
flounce at the bottom. Over the skirt a piece of black 
lace or other black material is draped like an overskirt. 
Then a short jacket of the thinnest material with wide 



102 The Old World 

sleeves is much worn with a neck handkerchief of 
the same thin material. The colors are conspicuous 
and assorted with no conformity to our ideas of taste. 
Still the women are pretty enough while young. 

December 15, 19 12. 

I called at the Worcesters' a few days ago. Mrs. 
Worcester is very pretty with sweet and gentle man- 
ners. Their two children are at school, the girl in the 
United States and the boy in Baguio. Mr. Worcester 
told me many interesting things of his experiences in 
the Philippines and gave me two of his pamphlets 
which I consider very valuable. 

Baguio, 
December 20, 1912. 

My dear Family : 

Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines, is 
what Simla is to India. It is five thousand feet above 
the sea. The motor road up is wonderful and beautiful, 
and the fifty miles were a charming drive of which I 
did not weary. Darkness cut off our view just when the 
mountain scenery was finest. I shall stay a week in 
this hotel. I should love to stay longer, but I am always 
so anxious to get my mail that I must return to Manila. 
I have a comfortable room ^rith. bath and beautiful 
views. As carriage hire is very dear, I have resolved 
to rise early and make a daily excursion on foot in the 
cool of the morning. I love walking and it agrees with 
me. Breakfast is served as early as six o'clock, so my 
plan works admirably. I am getting so strong th^t 
yesterday I walked about twelve miles. I go up the 
hills slowly with frequent halts. My walk was so long 
yesterday because I took one of my famous short-cuts 



Through Old Eyes 103 

and got lost. I finally found myself at the bottom of a 
ravine at a gold mine instead of at Mrs. Kelly's school 
for Igorot girls. This is a well-known government 
school, an attempt to civilize these wild mountain 
people, which has had very great success, that and 
similar ones for both girls and boys. These young 
people are now all speaking English and doing produc- 
tive manual labor. Many of the girls weave and 
embroider very skilfully. The boys make beautiful 
baskets and are taught many trades. Yesterday at 
this gold mine, I succeeded in getting a boy guide who 
spoke English and he took me to Mrs. Kelly's school. 
Ten of her best scholars had gone to a rehearsal for a 
joint school entertainment to be given to-morrow night, 
and to which I have been invited. Mrs. Kelly was not 
at home, but her husband treated me with great hospi- 
tality, made me rest a long time, and refreshed me with 
hot tea, bread and butter, and home-made preserves. 
He told me the government supports these girls entirely, 
supplying clothing, books, everything. They are quite 
good-looking now that they are made to bathe and dress 
neatly. In the dormitory, it was odd to see that each 
had her own comb, brush, tooth-brush, and tooth-paste. 
The tnbe to which these girls belong lives in dirty holes ; 
no one washes, and their hair hangs in filthy, uncombed 
masses. When Mr. Kelly came up here ten years ago, 
there was only one white woman in Baguio. No roads, 
only trails, leading up the mountains. It was a long 
time before he ever saw an Igorot woman. He saw the 
men, but the women always ran and hid like frightened 
animals before he could see them. The change in ten 
years has been momentous. When I started back 
for the five-mile walk, I felt fresh and rested, and the 
way, though uphill, was not difiicult; fine roads laid 



104 The Old World 

off and built by the best road makers. I got on finely 
until I took another short-cut when I got lost and was 
forced to retrace my steps. I recalled how often Sed- 
ley and I got into dangerous places in Switzerland 
through this mania for shortening the road, and of that 
memorable walk with Nellie at Chamouni when she 
rolled down the mountain, preceded and carrying with 
her masses of rolling stones of all sizes and landing at 
last at the bottom among a herd of goats, the rams 
so excited by her unexpected appearance that she had to 
defend herself actively with a stick. I got back to the 
hotel after one o'clock and was perfectly fresh for 
another jaunt next morning. 

I have been to see Bishop Brent's school. He has 
thirty boys, sons of government employees in the islands. 
I told the young matron, who showed me the build- 
ing, that I had met one of the teachers in Japan last 
autumn, and yesterday he called to see me. He made 
himself very agreeable and I accepted an invitation 
to lunch there to-day. It is a mile from here, but the 
path leads through a shady forest. When I visited the 
teachers' camp, they had the Igorot boy band to play for 
me. They were dressed like their ancestors, but clean. 
They wore shirts and a "G" band around their waists, 
their hair cut close. These boys, who never heard 
any music in their lives save the beating of drums till 
they came to this school, played most creditably on 
their brass instruments. There were about a dozen. I 
praised their skill to please them, and indeed they 
seemed very proud of themselves. Filipinos proper 
have much taste for music, but these Igorots belong 
to a different race who have but recently come into 
contact with civilization. They are not Christians 
nor Mohammedans, but pagans. There is a station of 



Through Old Eyes 105 

the Jesuit Fathers' famous weather bureau in Baguio 
situated on top of a round hill in full view from the 
hotel but higher up. I went there one morning. I 
had heard that Father Algue from Manila was visiting 
the station, so I asked to see him. He came down to 
the veranda and asked what he could do for me. I said 
I simply wanted to hear him talk if he could spare 
a few moments. He motioned me to a bench whence I 
had a view of a magnificent panorama reaching to the 
China Sea, and talked in a most interesting manner. 
The Jesuit Fathers' weather bureau renders important 
service to the shipping of the world. It has a station 
in Yap and another in Guam, the U. S. Naval Station. 
He said the typhoons originate between these two 
points. Their weather bureau in Manila receives 
immediate notice when one of these formidable storms 
starts on its career of destruction. All ships any- 
where in reach are warned and seek shelter. The one 
which occurred just before I arrived was the worst in 
many years and destroyed not only shipping but towns 
and plantations. The papers are still full of accounts of 
it. There was a captain of constabulary at the hotel 
when I first came, who was quite interesting. I was 
sorry he left, for I thought ot many things afterwards 
that I wanted to ask him. When I spoke of the United 
States giving up these islands, he grew very excited and 
said: "We have six little cemeteries here where our 
boys lie buried. They have only wooden slabs over 
them which will soon be gone, but every one of those 
boys did his duty. Some had their heads cut off by 
natives, some died of cholera, some of pernicious 
fever, and I wouldn't have those little cemeteries 
abandoned for anything in this world. I get so mad 
when I think of it that I have to clench my fists. When 



io6 The Old World 

I first started out from Cebu with my chum and forty- 
natives, the general said to me: 'North, if you and 
your chum get back safe from this trip, I will give you 
the biggest and the best dinner you ever saw.' You 
see we didn't know whether those forty natives would 
work with us or kill us. One night they did all slip off 
while we were asleep. We heard later that they had 
orders to kill us but they did not do it, and after a 
while all but two of them came back. They had never 
been so well treated in their lives. Never before had 
they had three square meals a day, good easy shoes, and 
proper clothing, so they came back and did good service 
and that is how we started the constabulary ten years 
ago. " Baguio was then a wild settlement with a few 
faint trails leading to it. Now it is a beautiful summer 
capital with splendid roads in every direction ; town lots 
at top figures. One day I walked to the beautiful sum- 
mer home of Governor-General Forbes, about two-and- 
a-half miles from here. No one was at home, but I 
walked around and admired the superb view, — range 
after range of mountain tops rising from deep valleys, 
billowy masses of green reaching to the far-off horizon. 
I then went to the hospital where soldiers and officers 
are sent to convalesce and recuperate. The surgeon 
, advised me to visit General Franklin Bell's fine villa 
before returning, so I climbed up that hill also. No 
one at home. I walked around the veranda and found 
at the back a Greek theater which the general is having 
constructed. It is quite unique and nearly finished. All 
the concentric semicircles are formed into raised flower 
beds about two feet high, I should judge. These flower 
beds are made of two walls of rough stone filled in with 
rich earth and planted thick with colored leaf plants 
of which there is a great variety in these islands. The 



Through Old Eyes 107 

effect is most beautiful. The seats for the spectators 
are to be between these flower beds. Several pine 
trees have been left standing, one very large one at the 
end of the uppermost tier of seats has a wall built up 
from below half way around it which adds much to its 
picturesque effect. There are some private boxes with 
chairs cut from the stone found there. It is a per- 
fectly unique open-air theater. It is not so grand as 
Mr. Howard's creation at Berkeley, but I dare not 
say which is the lovelier. The whole country" is in such a 
peaceful state that I have not the slightest fear in these 
solitary strolls. All the people I meet seem to take 
pleasure in showing off their knowledge of English. I 
passed a house yesterday and heard a perfect chorus of 
good mornings and good-byes. I really believe the 
Americans have done more for this people than was 
ever done before by any civilized nation for an inferior 
race; fine roads and schoolhouses everywhere with 
peace, order, and prosperity. After the typhoon which 
caused such immense loss of property, the Americans 
were on hand immediately with help which prevented 
hundreds from starving, and they work with such dis- 
interested zeal that I have concluded our country has 
sent its best men to take charge of these islands. An 
American lady tourist told me that a friend of hers living, 
in Manila one day called her house boy to reprove 
him for some neglect. When he appeared, he had a 
lighted cigarette in his mouth. ' ' How dare you smoke 
in my presence?" she asked. "You would not treat 
an English or Spanish lady with such impertinence." 
The boy answered : ' ' The English and Spanish are our su- 
periors; the Americans are our equals." The indignant 
lady complained to her husband who only laughed at her, 
so she went for sympathy to an English lady who said : 



io8 The Old World 

* 

' * You should have seized that fellow by the neck and 
shaken him well. My husband would have beaten him 
till he could not sit down. I myself once struck our 
boy, and he threatened to appeal to the court. I 
told him he could do so but he would then have 
the worst beating he had ever had in his life, that I 
should pay the fine, but he must take another beating 
after each fine. He then said he would quit his place. 
I said : No you are going to stay and do your work. I 
have trained you to do it properly and I don't propose 
to worry with another. You will stay and behave 
yourself. And he has stayed and behaved himself. 
The way to treat them is to beat them. " This is the 
prescription of the English lady to settle the labor 
question here in the Philippines, but it does not appeal 
to American husbands as a rule, nor to many of their 
wives, I hope. 

We often have fern-leaf salad at dinner. The buds 
are gathered, boiling water is poured over them, then 
they are cooled and seasoned; cabbage is often added. 
It is quite good. We have hardly any fruit except 
bananas up here. I miss the papayas; I was growing 
very fond of them. Baguio means typhoon. From 
June to November, these storms rage. Often the roads 
are all washed away and it is then impossible to get 
supplies. This morning a Bontoc man came down to 
sell some spears he had made. He was entirely naked 
except for a "G" band and a small bag hanging at 
his side to hold money. On the back of his head 
he had a very small basket partly as an ornament 
and partly to hold tobacco. It looked like a chig- 
non. All the Bontocs wear these little ornamental 
baskets on their heads. These tribes prefer dog meat 
to any other food, so every summer dog merchants 



Through Old Eyes 109 

bring up packs of yelping curs to sell to these wild 
men. 

Manila, 
December 29, 1912. 

My last was from charming Baguio. The night before 
I left, I went to one of the most remarkable entertain- 
ments I ever attended, at the Teachers' Camp about a 
mile from the hotel. Twenty-one of the Igorot girls 
from Mrs. Kelly's school and many of the Igorot boys 
from the Teachers' Industrial School were the actors 
in the entertainment. They recited poetry, they sang 
a cantata, and they acted a little Santa Claus play, 
besides going through a kind of ballet with graceful 
movements accompanied by music. The boys were 
resplendent in red jackets and fringed gold bands, their 
entire lower limbs naked as is their wont in their native 
haunts. The girls had on white dresses with white 
bandeaux on their heads, all barefooted. The girls 
in the ballet carried long white scarfs, the boys red ones 
and red caps on their heads. When Santa Claus ap- 
peared there was a spontaneous shout of laughter from 
the Igorot boys and girls in the audience. After all the 
acting and singing were over, a Virginia reel was danced 
and very well danced by the boys and girls. It was 
difficult to realize that all this had been accomplished 
within a few years. Next day I took the automobile 
at an early hour and had a grand drive down the moun- 
tain, but the railway journey was very hot and dusty 
after the bracing climate of Baguio. 

We have all read of Bilibid Prison, and all travelers 
visit it. I have been there twice, the first time in the 
afternoon to see the drill when the day's work is done. 
This is conducted to the accompaniment of fine music 



no The Old World 

• 

by the prison band. The spectator stands on a high 
platform in the center of the grounds towards which 
converge the long rows of dormitories. Between these 
airy buildings are open spaces in which the drill evolu- 
tions take place. As there are now about three thou- 
sand men in the prison and each squad of fresh men is 
reqmred to spend the whole of the first four weeks 
of their imprisonment in learning this drill, it is per- 
formed with great perfection and is a very fine sight. 
I am told that since the men have been required to per- 
form these daily exercises, their health has improved 
wonderfully. In particular there is a great falling 
off of tuberculosis. The exercises are very varied, 
the men lying down and rising, holding each other's 
hands, or marching in columns four abreast. Their 
dinner plates of metal, which they hold, add much to 
the picturesqueness of the drill. Each division has a 
drill master, who, I am told, is an American prisoner. 
There seems to be very few women prisoners and they 
are, of course, not with the men. I was told there are 
only about loo to the 3000 men, put in for theft and 
adultery mostly. I never heard of the latter being a 
penal offense in modem times, but the Filipino As- 
sembly is composed of Filipinos exclusively. Both men 
and women are sentenced to BiUbid on this charge 
when preferred by husband or wife. I returned to 
the prison one morning in order to see the inmates at 
work. I had to get the consent of the director who 
furnished me with a guide, and it took nearly one and 
a half hours to make the inspection. The men are 
allowed to smoke and to talk freely both at work and 
during recreation. When they enter the prison they 
are asked what trade they had rather learn and their 
wishes are invariably respected. Blacksmith work is 



Through Old Eyes iii 

considered the most disagreeable, but as it is very well 
paid in this country there are always plenty of volun- 
teers. Some choose hospital nursing, some music, some 
carpentering, some carriage making, or painting, or 
laundry work, furniture making in its various branches, 
machinery, cooking, wheel making, etc. They all get 
a wonderful training even to fine silversmith and gold- 
smith work. They fill orders from the outside too, 
but all is arranged so as not to offer an undue competi- 
tion to outside workers. Prices are not cheap, but 
the quality of the goods is fine, very solid. I was never 
in a prison before, but I feel that I can now judge of 
other prisons. The women I saw at work were embroid- 
ering. The American prisoners were kept as much out 
of sight as possible. I hear, and fully believe, that a 
man who has been as many as three years in Bilibid 
has acquired not only skill in his chosen line of work 
but good habits and a healthy body which should keep 
him straight for the rest of his life. I was interested in 
the kitchen where, in huge caldrons, pork and beans 
and rice were boiling, not polished rice, however. Since 
reading that the scrapings from rice (in order to make 
it white) were the most effective cure for beriberi, I am 
prejudiced against white rice and I wish our children 
could eat the natural article. My conductor at last 
said, "Now I am going to show you the best of all, " and 
I wondered what this fine-looking American in his fine 
white suit and speaking the most atrocious English, as 
far as grammatical construction was concerned, but 
having the best of intentions and the best of hearts — I 
wondered what this stalwart son of America would 
call the best of all. It was the schoolhouse where 
every prisoner is taught English, one hour every 
day and two hours every evening, three hours' study 



112 The Old World 

• 
daily. The teachers are taught by Americans, the 
men by other prisoners. I stood some time Hstening 
and saw what zeal both prisoners and teachers put into 
their work. I think all prisons should have schools and 
teach trades too. Prisons should not be for punish- 
ment but to make good men of bad ones. Really no 
one with a soul can visit these islands and not feel 
the deepest enthusiasm for what our countrymen are 
accomplishing here. I am intensely proud of the 
Americans who are working for the uplift of these 
peoples with the zeal of apostles. At Baguio I was 
talking to a Scotchman, now living in Australia, and 
an editor, of all the wonderful things we were doing 
in the Philippines, but I could not elicit one spark of 
appreciation. Jealousy between nations is too deep 
rooted, except among the Bite few to enable them to 
recognize generously and fully what another people 
are doing. I believe that Europe still doubts our 
intentions in Cuba. 

I dined at the Egans' Friday evening. They sent 
their automobile for me and sent me back. It was the 
27th of December, which happened to be my birthday 
— 70 years old. We had a fine dinner and some good 
Rhine wine to help digestion. After dinner. General 
Pershing and his wife called. He is to go soon to the 
Moros. You read, of course, of the killing of Captain 
Watson by a fanatical Moro. I judge from accounts of 
these crimes that the Moros who run amuck are ruined 
men who wish to commit suicide. They or their families 
may be hopelessly in debt or they may be obsessed by 
the idea of some real or fancied dishonor put upon them. 
Now, according to the Mohammedan religion, a suicide 
cannot enter Paradise. Mohammed has made Para- 
dise so attractive to his followers that he had to forbid 



Through Old Eyes 113 

suicide, so they run amuck. Their first object seems to 
be to get killed, their second, but very important one, 
is to kill as many unbelievers as possible, for death to a 
Mohammedan, with his hands dripping in the blood of 
unbelievers, is a passport that admits him straightway 
into Paradise, where houris are eagerly awaiting his 
coming. Why should he then suffer on earth when he 
can exchange this suffering for such triumphant bliss 
above? The desperate man must perform certain 
ceremonies which prepare him also for burial. The 
Datto, who represents in his person both spiritual and 
temporal authority, adds his sanction to these ceremon- 
ies, and if the motive to the crime is debt a release from 
it is promised to the family. The man's limbs are so 
tightly bound that the flow of blood is greatly impeded 
even after mortal wounds have been inflicted, thus 
enabling him to slaughter still. I hear that American 
influence is reducing the number of amuck crimes. 
Many of the Dattos have pledged themselves to dis- 
courage the custom. With the opening of good roads 
and schools and assured means of livelihood, the same 
marvelous results may be hoped for with the Moros 
as are transforming the pagan tribes under Dean 
Worcester. 

January 2, 1913. 

I went to see the Normal School the other morning. 
The matron is a Mrs. Burton, a widow, whose husband 
was once very wealthy I am told. She has very- 
prepossessing manners and is most agreeable. She 
invited me to come back to tea. I returned late in the 
afternoon and was introduced to the assembled young 
Filipino ladies, who looked very pretty and graceful 
in their native dress. Some of these girls go to the 



114 The Old World 

* 

Normal School and some to the University. Some 
are pensioners of the government, receiving enough to 
pay for board and education. They bind themselves 
to teach for two years after they graduate, but if they 
marry they must repay the government for its outlay. 
In case they teach the two years, they receive a salary 
just the same as other teachers. Mrs. Burton says 
there are many very clever girls among them. They 
study law, medicine, and other modern languages 
besides English. In the Bureau of Education, there 
are employees who teach the Filipino teachers scattered 
through the islands by means of correspondence. There 
are not enough American teachers to meet the demand 
for more and more schools, industrial and agricultural. 
We are certainly doing noble work for these islands, but 
I believe it will eventually be said that the greatest boon 
we are conferring on them is our language, which wiU 
bind them together into a real nation if we remain here 
long enough. When I went around the world in 1897, 
Sedley and I found it necessary to speak other lan- 
guages as well as English. There is no such need now, 
for English has become, as it deserves to be, a world 
language and no other can compete with it. Those 
Americans who deserve, perhaps, the greatest credit for 
spreading this noble speech throughout the world are 
our missionaries with their fine schools. 

I called at the Worcesters' the other day. They were 
spending the holidays at the leper settlement. They 
took Christmas presents with them, among other things 
a moving picture show. The leper settlement under 
Mr. Worcester's management is such a success that 
when people find they have the disease they voluntarily 
present themselves. If greatness be measured by the 
good one does and the happiness diffused, then Mr. 



Through Old Eyes 115 

Worcester is one of the world's great men. His 
record of service among the wild tribes is perhaps the 
most notable achievement of the American occupation. 
The lizards, which frequent the houses here, chirp as 
merrily as crickets. Often they get into a squabble 
on the ceiling and then they fall. More than once in 
the dining-room, they have fallen on one or other of the 
small tables during meal time. Everybody is patient 
with them, for they make war on mosquitoes and are 
harmless. 

On Board the Steamer at Zamboanga, 
Mindanao Island, January lo, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

Friday the 3rd, January, when I arrived on board 
the steamer, I learned it would not sail until next day. 
I told the steward that as I had taken the trouble to 
come on board with my belongings I should prefer to 
remain. This was permitted. In some respects I liked 
it quite well. The meals all taken on deck and much to 
see going on, where many vessels were loading, all in the 
little river Pasig which cuts Manila in two sections, one 
the old town within the walls, the other the new one 
beyond the Pasig where are all the good shops and big 
business houses. The post office is near the steamer 
landing and I had the good fortune to get three letters 
which I should have missed had we sailed on time. 
This quite reconciled me to the delay. Having time on 
my hands, I went to see the big Government Hospital. 
While going through one of the corridors, I heard a 
rapid step behind me and my name called. I turned to 
meet an American nurse who seized my hand and told me 
how glad she was to see me. I thanked her gratefully 
and kissed her, but it was impossible for me to recall 



ii6 The Old World 

her face. "I have been watching all the arrivals in the 
hotels since the first of December hoping to see your 
name, but could never find it. Where are you and 
when did you come ? " I gave her this information, but 
was afraid to ask her any questions. It would have 
been such a blow to this generous, warm-hearted girl. 
I would have given anything to recall her name. . She 
asked me to come to see her at the Nurses' Home, 
but I told her I was on the ship ready to make the tour 
of the southern islands. "Will you go to Iloilo? If 
you do, Dr. and Mrs. R. are there." "You don't say 
so ! Certainly if the boat stops there I shall look them 
up. " Alas ! I had no idea who Dr. and Mrs. R. were, 
much as I racked my brain. I do not believe the 
steamer stops there, however. The dear girl begged 
me to come to see her on my return, but I do not see 
how I am to find her without knowing her name. 

There was only one other lady passenger on this 
steamer, a missionary who stopped at Dumaguete in the 
Island of Negros. I was very glad of her society and we 
had our beds made on deck where all the first-class 
passengers sleep. I missed her last night but I slept 
on deck all the same. I wear my dressing-gown and it 
is really all I can do to dress and undress in the state- 
room. We were all very seasick the first two days 
till we got to Cebu earty Tuesday morning. That 
town suffered severely from the typhoon. I took a 
drive in the morning and a long walk in the afternoon. 
I wanted to see hemp growing and the Nipa palm. 
A young Irishman now living in New Guinea but who 
calls himself a New Zealander took the walk with me. 
The weather was cool and showery. When it rained 
we found shelter, and got on finely, for the roads are 
superb. My Irish friend was sure he knew Nipa and 



Through Old Eyes 117 

hemp, but I soon lost confidence in him and asked 
an American going by on a bicycle. The latter devoted 
himself for my information, and as he knew the country 
thoroughly his conversation interested me greatly. He 
cut long branches from the Nipa and showed me 
how the natives make roofs and the sides of their 
houses with it. This palm grows in swamp land and is a 
bush, the long branches rising from the ground and not 
from a trunk or stem. I have never seen such perfect 
palm branches, twelve and fifteen feet long, and each 
leaf nearly two inches wide. The branches do not curve 
in those graceful lines like the date and cocoanut palms, 
for Nipa is only a bush palm and is not so picturesque 
in the mass, but cut one of those long perfect branches 
with its fresh color and beautiful, perfect leaves spread- 
ing out on either side of the stalk and one becomes 
enamored. It is marvelously useful, making roofs im- 
pervious to sun and rain and costing nothing. This 
palm with the bamboo and the rattan are nature's choice 
gifts to the tropics for building purposes. I did not 
see hemp growing but learned that it resembles very 
closely banana trees. I was much struck with the length 
of the hemp fiber and the beautiful cloth woven from it. 
It is perhaps the most valuable agricultural product 
of the islands. The hemp tree is cut down, but others 
spring from the roots so a hemp plantation costs little or 
nothing to maintain. The long walk did me good for 
I had been very seasick. We walked about five miles. 
During one shower, we went in a native schoolhouse and 
I got one of the boys to read his English reader. He did 
so remarkably well, but his teacher could hardly speak 
or understand English, mine at least. Early Wednesday 
we reached Dumaguete in Negros where my mission- 
ary friend left the ship, but on going ashore I met all 



ii8 The Old World 

the mission and was invited to lunch which I accepted. 
They are Presbyterians and have a very fine college, the 
Silliman College. The houses of the missionaries are 
grouped around it, the grounds filled with cocoanut 
palms loaded with fruit. I said I had never tasted 
unripe cocoanut so they gave me one at lunch and I 
took a great fancy to it. From one of the flowering 
trees I plucked some big white blossoms and long white 
buds. I never saw them before. A student told me 
they made good salad, so Mrs. Glunz, my hostess, had 
salad made of them for me, which all liked. Mrs. 
Glunz carried me to the Government Industrial School 
for Girls. The house was made entirely of bamboo, 
rattan, and Nipa. The rattan is used to bind the 
other materials together. The girls all spoke more 
or less English and were quite a pretty lot. They 
embroider, make lace, weave beautiful baskets, make 
hemp slippers, bags, and a variety of other articles. At 
the Silliman College, I saw a nephew of Aguinaldo. He 
has a son also in the school, and I was told that another 
young man whom I met was a grandson of Admiral 
Cervera, by a Filipino woman, of course. One sees 
much Spanish blood in the finer features and paler 
color of the people. In strolling about the town, I went 
into a convent kept by French sisters. The Mother 
Superior was so handsome and had such charming 
manners that I was quite captivated. She, with great 
politeness, insisted that it was a treat to have a visitor 
who spoke French. She sent for all the sisters from their 
class rooms and we had a big talk in the cool hall. I 
had to see and admire the younger children, some of 
them beauties, and we all became so intimate and on 
such friendly terms that I was voted a grandmother to 
the convent. I said I liked that r61e best of all. The 



Through Old Eyes 119 

ladies of the mission were very cordial and warm-hearted 
and I enjoyed my day very much. 

We reached Zamboanga yesterday. When I went 
ashore I asked as usual for missionaries and was directed 
to the home of Mr. and Mrs. McCutchen, Episcopalians. 
I found them on the veranda. Mrs. McCutchen 
kindly said she had just ordered her carriage to go to 
the weekly meeting of Moro girls from the public school 
and would take me with her. The ladies give up their 
time to these girls one afternoon in the week in order to 
teach them some simple arts. The Moro girls wore 
little jackets and bloomers but the bloomers are hidden 
by the sarong, tliis latter containing, I imagine, about 
three yards of cloth draped so as to conceal the bloomers. 
The girls sang, danced and played games. I did not 
think these Moro girls as fascinating or as picturesque 
as the Filipino girls I saw in Manila and in Dumaguete. 
I saw a young Moro with his wife dressed in native 
costume, every article the woman had on a different 
color, the man in the tightest possible trousers as 
though moulded in them, a tight-fitting jacket with 
tight sleeves, a great many buttons, a sash tied in 
front, and a colored handkerchief knotted around his 
head. This couple looked very well; though neither 
was tall, they had a certain graceful, swinging walk. 
The captain told me some blood-curdling stories of 
Spanish times (he is Spanish and has lived in this 
country twenty- two years) : of how a juramentado crept 
into the post-office of Jolo when the Spanish mail had 
just arrived and the officers were busy reading their 
home letters — six of them were killed before any resist- 
ance could be offered; of another case when a More 
was displaying his dexterity in arms, all were pleased 
and laughing when he began to throw his weapons at 



120 The Old World 

the circle of his admirers. It is very hard to deal with 
these cases because death is what they are courting, 
and slaughter is such wild delight to them, such 
supreme intoxication. I asked Mrs. McCutchen if the 
Moros made good servants. She thought they did, but 
she had brought her servants from the mountain prov- 
ince of Luzon. I did not think to ask her whether 
they were Christians. They came from the non- 
Christian or Igorot tribe, north of Baguio, where the 
McCutchens lived a year or two. The Irish New 
Zealander who lives in New Guinea left the steamer 
here to cross over to Borneo. He was violently opposed 
to missionaries because, he said, they did so much harm 
to his business in New Guinea. I hated to hear him 
hurt the feelings of the lady missionary on board. I 
told him how glad I was when visiting the missionaries 
that they lived in comfort, for comfort means health. 
I said it did me good and I knew it added to their 
efficiency. He said he had to pay a heavy tax in New 
Guinea to buy certain things from the natives, whereas 
the missionaries bought them without paying the tax 
and thus made a good deal of money. Then they paid 
the boys to go to Sunday-school and gave tobacco to 
the men to go to church, whereas a New Guinea man 
will only work to get tobacco. I made a point against 
him by saying that he had confessed to beating his ser- 
vants whenever he saw fit, which was rather often it 
seemed to me, while the missionaries were opposed 
to striking the natives. I had to help the kind-hearted 
missionary lady, especially when he said that while he 
was roughing it and working like a dog, the missionar- 
ies were living in luxury on handsome incomes and so 
on. The papayas are perfectly delicious, here, so 
sweet. 



Through Old Eyes 121 

Off Davao South Coast of Mindanao. 
January 15, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I wrote last from Zamboanga which is also on this 
island in the extreme southwest. From there we 
sailed to Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago, head center of the 
Moros. I suppose you know these people were called 
Moros because of their religion, it being the same as 
that of the Moors with whom the Spaniards were famil- 
iar. Not many days before our arrival in Jolo, a Moro 
had gone amuck and tried to kill indiscriminately. 
He only succeeded in wounding two persons badly, 
a policeman and another Moro. Some said the latter 
wore no distinctive article of Moro dress but others 
say that often when a Moro goes amuck he is so crazy 
he doesn't know whom he kills. I was told that if I 
wanted information, I should go to the head customs 
officer, Mr. Roddy ; but before going there, I took a walk 
and speaking to a cavalry soldier, he accompanied me 
and talked very freely. His conversation amused me 
greatly but I found afterwards that the cavalry man 
was ill informed and that I could not rely on what he 
said. I then went to the hospital and asked to see 
Lieutenant Edmonds. You must have read of Captain 
Watson's being killed in the neighborhood of Jolo by 
a Moro who crept at night into his tent and severed his 
head while he was sleeping. Edmonds was in the same 
tent. The Moro, however, lost time thrusting his 
weapon into the pillow, but he slashed the knee-cap of 
the lieutenant and wounded him in the other leg and in 
his hand. The two men were grappling together when 
Captain Wells, hearing a noise, ran in from another 
tent and shot the Moro dead. I was admitted to see 
Lieutenant Edmonds, but found him so nervous and 



122 The Old World 

ill that I remained only a few minutes. I then called on 
Mr. Roddy and found him very entertaining, courteous, 
and intelligent. He has been in the islands many years 
and quite a long time in Jolo. He takes a very hopeful 
view of the situation among these fanatical people. He 
says they are now applying for work on the roads; 
formerly they tore up roads and bridges as soon as they 
were built. Jolo Island, he says, has hitherto been 
handicapped by debt but now that has been paid and 
they are going to commence work in earnest on the 
roads. They pay the Moros fifty cents a day in silver 
for their work. Undoubtedly there is no more potent 
influence among a barbarous people than good and easy 
means of communication. Only through the advantages 
of intercourse and trade do they become familiar with 
civilized beings and their methods. After my visit to 
the Roddy s, I called at Colonel Swift's house, the high- 
est officer in Jolo. I found Mrs. Swift very charming 
and had an invitation to lunch. After lunch the 
colonel came in and unfortunately I repeated the 
cavalryman's conversation just for fun, but the man 
was in the colonel's own regiment. He asked his name 
which happily I was ignorant of. I had a delightful 
visit to this family; saw their two lovely daughters. 
The colonel is a fine man; makes a most pleasing 
impression. Mr. Roddy told me the difference between 
a juramentado and a man who goes amuck. It is 
substantially what I have already written you. The 
juramentados go through the most solemn religious 
ceremony presided over by the head man. Sultan of the 
district. The word means one who has taken an 
oath. He is vowed to die but engages to take as many 
lives of unbelievers as possible. It is for this reason 
that he binds his legs and arms tightly so that the 



Through Old Eyes 123 

blood will flow slowly after he is wounded. When 
mortally wounded, he often has the strength to continue 
to slay. He generally belongs to a family who has 
become hopelessly in debt and by this means he is able 
to redeem them from slavery. Mr. Roddy said the 
last case of a juramentada occurred in 1904, and since 
then the Dattos had refused to perform the rite, which, 
in itself, marks a distinct progress. The case of the 
Moro who went amuck a few days ago was as follows : 
His brother-in-law was in jail in Jolo and the man came 
in to get this relative released. Through an inter- 
preter, he pleaded his cause, but in vain. He then 
departed greatly depressed and after moping around 
went to the market where he suddenly started up in 
wild rage and began to slash right and left. 

This steamer returns to most of its ports of call on its 
way back to Manila, so I shall see Jolo again and the 
Swifts and Roddy s whom I have found so interesting. 
Mr. Roddy said I reminded him of his mother. I had 
to confess to him that I hated custom houses as much as 
the French of 1789 hated the Bastile and that if I had 
my way I should pull them all down. When I was a 
child, my father had an odd volume of Adam Smith's 
Wealth of Nations. I had little else to read so I became 
an advocate of free trade in early hfe. Mr. Roddy 
showed me some interesting things he had seized as 
contraband and was going to sell at auction, also a, good 
deal of opium which, of course, is not to be sold but 
sent to be manufactured into medicine. The climate 
is delightful everywhere on the coast of Mindanao. 
I sleep every night on deck and I am the only white 
woman on board. The Swifts accompanied me on 
board at Jolo and were surprised to see hanging over 
my sleeping place a quarter of beef, several bunches of 



124 The Old World 

■ 

bananas and cabbages tied with strings. At the next 
landing I fell into the hands of a young American, a 
school inspector, not long in the country. He told me 
that forty-five miles in the interior, a rich Datto had 
offered to build dormitories for two hundred Moro 
boys and to feed them if the government would s;:nd 
them an American teacher, that the Moros did not 
like a Filipino teacher. They hate the Filipinos 
who, as a rule, are Catholics. I thought this proposal 
of a Datto the most hopeful indication which has yet ap- 
peared in the Moro problem. When they beg for schools 
(non-sectarian, of course) and are willing to build the 
houses necessary, it is an infallible sign of progress. This, 
with the applications for work on the roads in Jolo, seems 
to me the solution of the whole question. We arrived 
at this place, Davao, this morning at about nine o'clock, 
and as the steamer must go from here to various points 
and then return, I have accepted an invitation to spend 
the two or three days at the house of a lieutenant of 
scouts. The captain of these scouts came on board at 
Jolo, just returned from a leave of absence to the states, 
and he insisted on my visiting the wife of his lieutenant. 
I felt very doubtful of my right to trouble this lady, but 
as soon as we landed all the captain's friends came on 
board to greet him and I was welcomed most cordially 
by them. The lieutenant in question would take 
no refusal of the captain's invitation so I begged off 
to-day to write, but they are to come for me this after- 
noon. There are a good many mixed marriages with 
Filipino women in this island. The American husbands 
are called squaw men, and such marriages are not 
regarded favorably by the government, for I hear the 
squaw men are seldom promoted. In Spanish times 
they were encouraged. One often hears complaints 



Through Old Eyes 125 

of these people not working regularly, but I feel much 
satisfaction in the thought that there is no suffering here 
as in India, no famines. Typhoons and volcanoes exact 
a certain toll of lives, but nature is very lavish and there 
is no crowded population to press on the means of sub- 
sistence. Where the people have artificial wants, they 
work to gratify them. They all smoke and love 
adornment, but they do not have to work to exhaustion 
as in civilized countries to support their families. 
There is then much happiness among the poor, if free- 
dom from want constitutes happiness, and certainly 
where want exists there can be no happiness. This is 
a source of much satisfaction to me after the suffering 
I saw in India in 1897 durmg the horrible famine. 

SuLu Archipelago, 
January 21, 1913. 

My DEA.R Family : 

Last Wednesday evening at five o'clock, Captain 
Charlton, Lieutenant Rackley, and Mrs. Rackley with 
her sister all came driving down from Davao to the ship 
to get me. I felt a little doubtful about accepting 
Captain Charlton's invitation to his friend's house, but 
it was repeated so cordially by all of them that I no 
longer hesitated. Mrs. Rackley said: "We are all 
invited to a ball at the Governor's house to-night, so 
bring your best dress. " 

The road from the landing to Davao is about a mile 
through a beautiful forest of cocoanut palms. The 
houses are built high from the ground with steep Nipa 
palm roofs, a fascinating-looking place. After dinner 
the Lieutenant told me incidents of his scout life among 
the pagan tribes, but Mrs. Rackley called me to dress 
for the ball before he finished. The Governor's house 



126 The Old World 

was very near, and his premises were beautifully decor- 
ated with great quantities of Nipa palm branches. 
These are split about half-way down and thus made to 
adapt themselves to fancy decoration with wonderful 
effect . The Filipino beauties and beaux were out in force 
in their graceful native dress. They danced the riga- 
don and I heartily wished Miss Russell could have seen 
it. I was introduced to some of the belles and had a 
chat with them. Refreshments were handed from 
time to time. The white ladies danced waltzes but did 
not attempt any other figures. Governor Richmond 
is a bachelor and a fine-looking American. I under- 
stand he came out as a private soldier. As soon as I 
reached the Rackleys, I had a call from a missionary 
and his wife to whom I brought a package from Duma- 
guete. They invited me to stay with them. I met them 
again at the ball and I was extremely pleased with Mrs. 
Black and her husband. There was something so sin- 
cere and genuine about them. I consented to go to 
their house for the rest of my stay. Captain Charlton 
pretended to be hurt at my leaving, but charming as 
Mrs. Rackley really was she had her house full. The 
gentleman carried me to see their company of Moro 
scouts and I heard some of their wild music in their 
barracks. I reached the Blacks' in time for lunch. 
That afternoon her friends called to see me. Mrs. 
Birchfield invited us all to lunch next day and Mrs. 
Sibley asked us all to dinner on the third day, so 
I found myself in a whirl of gaiety. I was told that 
Davao had few visitors from the outside world. The 
Blacks have one child, Richard, a name endeared to 
me through Laura's two Richards. This child of seven 
is so remarkably bright that his parents do not send 
him to school. Mrs. Birchfield told me that a young 



Through Old Eyes 127 

man on a visit to her son asked Richard if he knew any- 
thing about physiology. Richard answered dehber- 
ately: "I know very Httle about physiology, but I have 
done quite a bit in practical hygiene. " The Birchfields 
think Richard a world's wonder. 

I lost some of my enthusiasm for Nipa at the Blacks'. 
Unless the roof is extremely steep and the Nipa put on 
carefully, the wind gets under it and pulverizes it so that 
it drops over everything. The old Nipa roof at Mrs. 
Black's covered the house with litter. She says when 
she has guests to dinner, if it is windy, the table gets 
entirely covered with trash while they are eating. Once, 
she said, a big lizard fell into the soup of the guest of 
honor and she had to give him hers, which happily had 
not been tasted. All kinds of creatures find lodging 
in the Nipa roofs and help to tumble down trash. At 
Dr. Sibley's, I heard nothing against such roofing. 
Theirs was put on so well that the wind only packed 
it down and it was many years old too. Next morning, 
the Blacks proposed that we should eat our breakfast 
in picnic fashion on the hill where the mission is building 
them a new and very substantial house, so we got in the 
calesa with the eatables, Mr. Black on horseback, and 
drove out a mile or more from Davao. The climate of 
all this country is very fine. We slept under a blanket 
every night, and the days were not too hot, though it is 
so near the equator. Trade winds modify the heat. 
The problem in this part of Mindanao is the white 
ant and the malaria. Both Mrs. Black and dear little 
Richard are infected with malaria and I was a little 
afraid of their house mosquitoes. Mr. Black has the 
posts sustaining his new house made of molave, the 
hardest wood I ever saw. The cost of the molave is 
the time it takes to cut and saw it. These posts are 



128 The Old World 

embedded in cement which the white ants do not relish. 
They will eat a house or a ship from the inside until it 
is ready to crumble to pieces. 

Mrs. Birchfield's lunch proved to be a delicious 
dinner. She has an extremely amusing monkey which 
is very vicious to strangers, so he has to be kept tied. 
He made the most frantic jumps at me, chattering 
angrily and trying to catch me with his hind feet as well 
as with his front paws. He would tire himself out in 
his endeavors to get at me so as to enjoy the pleasure of 
tearing me to pieces. Then he would creep up to Mrs. 
Birchfield, put his arms about her neck, pat her with one 
paw while telling his troubles in a childlike, half-crying 
voice. It was teasing that had made him so vicious. 
The Birchfields came out with the volunteers during 
hostilities, he being a captain. He now has two plan- 
tations and a large store in Davao. They live most 
delightfully and Mrs. Birchfield is a very superior 
woman in every respect. The Moros do not live near 
Davao; the natives near here are pagans. Captain 
Charlton's scouts are Moros and very faithful to their 
officers, whom they respect and honor. Dr. Sibley is 
going soon with his family to the United States, on 
leave. He wants to take a course of study at the 
School of Tropical Medicine in London if the mission 
will pay for it. Everybody speaks very highly of his 
skill .and his successful work among Americans and 
natives alike. 

The men whom I met here are much excited over 
Dr. Wilson's policy of abandoning the Philippines. 
Those who have important interests have decided to 
throw in their lot with the Moros, who declare they will 
never submit to a government of the Filipinos. There 
is no homogeneity in these islands, and among neigh- 



Through Old Eyes 129 

boring cities there are such jealousies and hatreds 
that even during the war against the Americans cities 
were intent only on ruining each other. Governor 
Richmond told me the idea of independence in these 
islands is purely local, not one of federation. I believe 
the Democrats will make a great mistake if they grant 
independence to these peoples now. The result will 
inevitably be to disrupt the country and bring on civil 
wars, with a return to savagery, whereas there is now 
great prosperity, as much freedom as in any country 
in the world, and rapid progress. Every man can ob- 
tain justice under the law and security for life and 
property. The Americans have a clean government 
over here. The Governor told me that if any American 
were suspected of not being the right sort of man, one 
whose principles were lax, he was quietly told to get out 
of the country. He told me also that a Mr. William 
Filene, vice-president of an anti-imperial league, had 
visited these islands at his own expense and without 
putting himself in the hands of the prominent men 
of either party in Manila, had gone off on a tour of 
inspection through the islands. At every important 
place, he sought out the provincial officials, the trea- 
surer, the district auditor, etc., and put his questions to 
them, examining their accounts and learning how the 
revenues were spent. When Mr. Filene returned to 
Boston, he spoke before his anti-imperial league, saying: 
" Gentlemen we are making a mistake. The American 
government in the Philippines is a clean one, caring for 
the natives in the best manner, educating and preparing 
them for self-government. I can no longer call myself 
an anti-imperialist. ' ' These people, for the first time in 
their history, are prosperous and making money. All 
would be contented, it is confidently believed, if the 



130 The Old World 

politicians at home did not make the question of their 
independence a party question, dangling it incessantly 
before their eyes. It would bring disaster on these 
people, who are like children in their ideas of liberty. 
They would seize the offices and would soon have a 
government like that of Haiti. It is said, and I believe 
with justice, that the people here are better governed 
than those of the United States. Why should we not 
show the world what we can do toward uplifting an 
inferior race. After the cruelties and mistakes of the 
war, when volunteers, the riff-raff of our cities were 
turned loose on these people, there is now one of the best 
governments in the world, and an immense and aug- 
menting volume of trade between the two countries. 
The Americans have men over here as able as any the 
West ever gave the Orient and one of these, Mr. Wor- 
cester, is looked upon as an authority on colonial sub- 
jects the world over. He is said to be cordially hated 
by the Filipinos but looked on as a protector by the wild 
men whom he freed from slavery which the Filipinos 
had imposed on them, cheating them always in trade 
and obtaining their lands by fraud. Mr. Worcester 
says these islands are not prepared for self-government 
and no one knows better than he. 

This morning when I got up from my bed on deck, the 
view was so beautiful in the early dawn among the 
islands of this inland sea that I forgot for the first time 
to take my valuables from under my pillow when I 
went to my stateroom to dress, but before I missed 
them one of the servants brought them to me intact. 

The Filipino hemp interests me very much. I 
cannot tell it from bananas where they grow together, 
but Richard said he could. I stripped one of the stalks 
and examined it. It resembles an onion in its con- 



Through Old Eyes 131 

centric layers, each one containing finer and finer fibers. 
In the center is found that wonderfully fine hemp which 
is sold to be mixed with silk. One evening while I was 
at the Blacks', Mr. Black went as usual to his class of 
English conversation for advanced students. When he 
returned he told us that only two were present, and 
on inquiry he was told that as they were to have in- 
dependence so soon they believed that English could be 
of no more use to them. The conversation lessons are 
given free. I believe that nothing will so effectually 
bind the Filipinos to the United States as the bond of a 
common language. I have seen here effusions of senti- 
ment in beautiful Spanish towards Spain in spite of 
her inefficiency, tyranny, and bad government. A 
very intelligent German in German colonial service 
told me that the Americans were always thoroughly 
informed of the English point of view in every question 
concerning England and Germany on account of the 
community of language. He spoke bitterly of it. 
Well, we should not be satisfied until these islanders 
have the English language. 

On Board Steamer Bound for Manila, 
January 25, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

On Wednesday last our ship called again at Jolo in 
the Sulu Archipelago where the Moros are so bad. I 
went first to the Roddys', who invited me to lunch. 
This I promised to take with them and then went 
for a call at the Swifts where I promised to dine if the 
captain would permit it, for the steamer was to leave 
that evening at seven. I was treated most cordially 
at the Roddys', and after the siesta, they proposed 
to take me out to the camp in the army bus. The two 



132 The Old World 

daughters of Colonel Swift went also for a game of ten- 
nis. Each man in the bus was well armed, Mr. Roddy, 
the driver, and two other Americans, the distance being 
about three quarters of a mile. We passed the spot 
where poor Lieutenant Rodney was cut to pieces by a 
Moro in the presence of his little daughter who tried to 
defend her father. There was undergrowth on each side 
and I felt uneasy, but we had enough armed men. The 
grounds at the garrison are beautiful, a cocoanut grove 
and well-tended grass. A band was playing. I met 
an officer who knew Ward Dabney and who spoke 
highly of him. I wish he were here now. He used to 
call Sedley and me "the slaves" at Sewanee. The 
captain having agreed to wait for me till half -past eight, 
I dined at the Swifts' where I enjoyed both the company 
and the dinner, but the Colonel being detained by 
business, we were so late that I had to leave before coffee 
was served. I pleaded in vain to be allowed to go alone 
to the steamer; the whole family accompanied me. 
They are rare and charming people. We reached Zam- 
boanga very early Thursday morning and as I had 
met the Pershings in Manila, I went to their home. 
I was received with such cordiality that I regretted 
much not having visited them on the downward trip. 
The General and his wife had engagements, but they 
arranged for the Superintendent of Education to ac- 
company me about town in their carriage. I was much 
entertained that morning by a scene between General 
Pershing and his little boy, Warren, just three and a half 
years old. I had asked the child his age before I saw 
his parents and he had answered the question each time 
by saying: "I am thinking." Then the orderly whis- 
pered his age to me, which I tried to get little Warren 
to repeat after me, but he would not. When I related 



Through Old Eyes 133 

this to General Pershing he called up Warren and said : 
"Stand at attention." The child stood with every 
muscle rigid, looking his father steadfastly in the face. 
Then the General tried every means of coercion short of 
violence, to force the child to say he was three and a half 
years old, but he refused. Each time the father asked, 
"How old are you, Warren?" the same answer was 
repeated: "I don't know," The scene became quite 
painful, and General Pershing was visibly much annoyed, 
but no threat could move the boy to give any other 
answer, though I saw his lips quivering. At last his 
father had to give up the struggle and then little Warren 
ran to the shelter of his mother's arms and asked in a 
whisper: "How old am I?" When she answered, 
"You are three and a half years old, " he came immedi- 
ately and voluntarily to tell me his age in a clear voice. 
After all, the child was right and bis father was wrong. 
I had fallen, as it were, out of the clouds into his home, 
and he couldn't understand that I should know any- 
thing about his age, so he refused utterly to say what 
he did not know to be true. It seemed to me that boy 
has a very strong and a very fine character. I was 
invited to lunch and had a delightful visit. On my 
return from the drive with Mr. Cameron, the Superin- 
tendent of Education, the orderly marched the children 
into the big hall single file and made them go through 
a little drill. Then they advanced to greet me. Helen 
was told to tell me a tale. She is six. She had a tired 
look in her beautiful brown eyes and seemed to speak 
with difficulty. I was told that adenoids had been 
removed from her nose one week before and that very 
morning it had been burnt out, but she obeyed the 
orderly and told me a little tale. Then little Anne 
was eager to tell one also. There was a lovely baby, 



134 The Old World 

four beautiful children in all. General Pershing spoke 
to me very freely of conditions in the Moro province. 
He said the Dattos and headmen generally were loyally 
sustaining the Americans as far as their authority would 
permit, but running amuck is a feature of Moro life. 
A Moro is then mad and his one idea is to kill. He 
will kill Moros as well as Christians. The juramentado, 
however, is not mad and kills only Christians, but the 
Dattos no longer perform the solemn rites of jura- 
mentada over these men. General Pershing told me 
that what I had heard in Cottabato about the Datto 
who had offered to build dormitories for two hundred 
students and to support them if an American teacher 
were sent to him was perfectly true and that the offer 
had been accepted. The General is both civil and mili- 
tary governor of the Moro land, Mindanao and the 
Sulu Archipelago. He is now disarming the Moros, and 
naturally there are disturbances, but he is thoroughly 
optimistic as to the outcome. They are asking for 
schools and for work on the roads. Two hundred 
Moros were working on the roads just outside of Jolo 
when I was there. That province is now out of debt 
and is undertaking road building in earnest. More 
Moros apply for the work than can be employed. They 
dread the man who goes amuck as much as the Ameri- 
cans. All this I have from General Pershing who knows 
the Moros and their country intimately. He suggested 
to his wife that they should take me that afternoon 
to the model farm and penal settlement twelve miles 
distant, but alas, my steamer was to leave at three 
o'clock, so I took my leave at half -past two, wishing 
that my visit could have been longer. Friday afternoon 
we arrived at Dumaguete. I had to be carried ashore 
by two natives as the surf always breaks on that coast. 



Through Old Eyes 135 

I was invited to dinner by my missionary friends after 
which we attended a rehearsal of a musical comedy 
by the students. Silliman College furnishes a large per- 
centage of teachers for the islands and is considered a 
very fine institution. I was told that one of the stu- 
dents had said seriously, in speaking of their possible 
independence: ''We want the Americans to kill all the 
Moros before withdrawing their troops." Dumaguete 
suffered much from Moro raids in olden times, so before 
being thrown on their own resources they prefer to have 
these formidable antagonists exterminated by their 
American friends. 

We reached Cebu, the last port before Manila, yester- 
day. I went out to see the mission in charge of Mr. 
and Mrs. Dunlap. The Dunlaps gave me an account 
of the great typhoon in October. The family escaped 
from their house in such inky darkness that, but for 
some tiny electric lights sent as toys from America, they 
could never have found their way to safety. Drenched 
to the skin, cold, and carrying nothing but their little 
boy, with the aid of these lights they reached the con- 
crete house of the constabulary guards. These con- 
crete houses alone withstood the storm. Once in 
safety, Mr. Dunlap left his family and hurried out to 
help bring in other drenched and half-frozen persons. 
He says the trait in Filipino character which unfits 
them for independence is that, after the elections, 
the defeated party keeps up a bitter hostility to the 
successful candidates with no desire to cooperate and 
no feeling of loyalty to a government not elected by 
their party. They are in fact separated into hostile 
camps, and if the Americans were not on hand to 
keep the peace, there would be fighting after each 
election. The Dunlaps have a dormitory for boys 



136 The Old World 

attending the high school, and as he is a fine athlete 
he has acquired great influence over them by training 
them in games. At Zamboanga, we took on the Filipino 
belle, with her maids of honor, who is to be queen of the 
carnival. A fine band came down to serenade her and 
the governor of the district came on board, a Filipino 
refined and cultivated apparently. I was introduced to 
him. When the ship started, an American on board 
asked if I had noticed the attitude of the crowd toward 
this governor, some scowling at him, others showing 
themselves his partisans. One is obliged to admit 
that civil wars must ensue if we give up the islands 
at the present time. 

Bangkok, 
February 14, 19 13. 

My dear Family : 

On landing at Bangkok, I came straight to Mrs. 
Irwin's house. It is small but has very broad ve- 
randas where we all sleep. Medora, a girl of twelve, is 
the only child. She is a beauty and remarkably intelli- 
gent. Mrs. Irwin has excellent servants of whom the 
cook is very good. Bangkok is an expensive place for 
housekeepers. Excepting fruit, almost everything is 
brought here from a distance. Mrs. Irwin has two 
young Scotchmen boarding with her. One, Mr. M., 
is a ripened man of liberal views; the other, lately 
arrived and just twenty-one, is a rigid Presbyterian. 
He believes all that is taught in the old Bible, and is 
rather too narrow to be very interesting. Last night 
Mrs. Irwin said at the dinner table that she had heard at 
one of her neighbor's the report that in this house the 
inmates beat the servants. She naturally was dis- 
tressed at such a report being circulated about a Chris- 



Through Old Eyes i37 

tian establishment. Mr. R., the young Scotchman, had 
to confess that he was the offender, but he had only 
done it twice, he said. The second time was yesterday 
afternoon. It was under extreme provocation. The 
Chinese boy had brought his new rain coat to him wear- 
ing it over his shoulders with the sleeves tied under his 
chin, but even this might not have provoked him seri- 
ously had not the boy laughed. This was really too 
much, so he just hit him on the back of the head. He 
had, however, paid him as a salve for his feelings. Mrs. 
Irwin got him to promise her that he would not beat the 
servants again. She said she never had more satis- 
factory ones. I trust he will keep his word and it will 
be a good training for him. I try never to offend his 
convictions. No doubt he will be more Hberal in ten 
years more, but I hate to hear him express such con- 
tempt tor the religion and morals of these Oriental 
folk. I said to him that neither Chinese nor Japanese 
had ever needed a law for the protection of children 
and animals, that they were gentle and kind to both, 
that they revered the old, were obedient to authority, 
and were singularly honest and reliable. I am con- 
vmced that only the Americans treat the Orientals 
with respect. At least that is what I saw in the Philip- 
pines. Before leaving Singapore, I found in the 
library a book called British Malaya by Sir Frank 
Swettenham which was very fascinating and I did not 
rest till I had finished it. He was one of the pioneers 
in founding the Malay federation of states. Before 
the work was begun, he had lived among the natives, 
learned their language, sympathized with them, and 
gained their confidence and friendship. The killing 
of a British agent necessitated a punitive expedition. 
This was undertaken under every disadvantage in a 



138 The Old World 

• 

country without a single road, only rivers and creeks, 
and elephants to cross jungles and swamps. When its 
objects had been accomplished (all this was in the 
seventies), the British colonial secretary suggested to 
the governor of the Straits Settlements that British 
Residents might be sent to the courts of the various 
sultans, but with no support from the government in 
London. They were to understand that they were not 
to go as rulers, merely as advisers. In this capacity, 
they were to see that the revenues were justly col- 
lected and disbursed and the surplus devoted to paying 
up the debts caused by the punitive expedition. These 
utterly illogical instructions had the happiest results, 
for the agents selected to carry them out were men 
found on the spot, who knew the country, the people, 
and the language. There was nothing to tempt men 
who crave political recompenses. The pay was small, 
the responsibility was great, obedience to the instruc- 
tions an impossibility. The first thing the Residents 
did was to train a police force strong enough to make 
their advice respected and then, having a free hand, 
they went boldly into debt. They borrowed and began 
to bmld roads. They reasoned that if they waited 
for a surplus it would attract attention and most 
probably be drained off into other channels, as they had 
observed in similar cases. They were besides heavily 
handicapped with debt, but they borrowed boldly where 
they could get credit, and the roads they built were built 
with the cheapest labor and the best material. The 
little railway connecting the tin mines with the nearby 
coast paid immediately 25% on the investment while 
taxable property was opened up all along the line. 
Men came forward to buy or rent land which had never 
been used before. When the colonial office woke up 



Through Old Eyes 139 

to the state of things in the Malay Peninsula, it was 
amazed to find that an immense work had been done. 
Railways, substantial bridges, trails followed by metal 
roads had been constructed. The Malay Peninsula 
had a budget and an important income. Not to be left 
out of so notable an undertaking, the colonial secretary 
wrote to the governor of the Settlements that the Resi- 
dents must employ engineers from London for all 
future railways and bridges and other public works. 
Sir Frank Swettenham devotes a page or two of rare 
irony to the methods of these government engineers 
living in London and sending out labor and material, 
the sum of which is that after a cost so excessive that no 
dividends were possible, the roads and bridges were 
washed away, because built by men ignorant of local 
conditions and of unsuitable material. The men on 
the spot, the Residents, such as Swettenham, con- 
tinued their activities till they got the federation of 
Malay states established, schools founded everywhere, 
but no English taught; that is the unique merit of 
the Americans and makes their colonial undertaking 
superior to all others. In justice, however, I should say 
that we have only eight million inhabitants in the Philip- 
pines. The English colonies teem with many millions 
more, while Java alone has five times as many inhabi- 
tants as the Philippines. 

Siam is a Buddhist nation, and in their religion 
any one who builds a temple has the right to the 
title "temple builder," which is as much prized as 
the rank of earl, or duke, or prince. But he is not 
required to keep his temple in repair. I imagine the 
government does this here, for all the temples look in 
fine order. 



140 The Old World 

Bangkok, 
February 22, 1913. 

We have great discussions at the dinner table every 
night. The strict Presb^^terian had a letter by the last 
mail from his father in Scotland. It was so well written 
that I was charmed when the young man read it to me. 
He is a supporter of home rule for Ireland and of the 
other measures of Lloyd George. The young man 
had been arguing against home rule for Ireland because 
of his intense distrust of Catholics and what they 
might do to Presbyterian Ulster. I think his father's 
words have converted him now. It argues well for the 
old man's head and heart, and for his brand of Chris- 
tianity too, that though a Scotchman he can judge 
generously on the Irish question. 

The other afternoon, Dr. and Mrs. McFarland called 
for us in their delightful automobile and gave us a beauti- 
ful drive in the vicinity of Bangkok. The national 
costume is not beautiful but it is practical and suited 
to the climate. The women wear their hair cut short, 
with few exceptions, and as both men and women dress 
alike, it is hard to tell them apart in the laboring classes. 

The Eurasians here as in India are an unhappy class 
in that they are neither regarded as Europeans nor 
natives. I am told that if a European lady goes to 
an entertainment given by Eurasians she loses caste in 
her own set forever after. 

A German warship is now in this harbor and I read a 
few days ago in the paper that the German business men 
of Bangkok were to take the officers on an excursion up 
to Ayuthia, the old capital of Siam. I had been talking 
of going to Ayuthia but was told that to go alone with- 
out a guide would be a mistake. I had given up the 
idea on account of the heat and unknown conditions up 



Through Old Eyes 141 

there. My hostess had never been there and could tell 
me nothing. When I read of the German excursion, I 
knew if I could join it I should have every advantage. 
So the night before I telephoned to the German Consu- 
late to ask if I could go, but I could neither understand 
the man talking nor make him understand me. I was 
told later that the personnel of the Consulate were all 
absent that evening, but I resolved to attempt it any- 
way. My hostess and I both got up at five o'clock as 
the train left early. I arrived much too early, got my 
ticket, and found the car intended for the Germans. 
I took my seat in a corner and waited for them to 
arrive. At last, they came. I kept very quiet but 
finally I addressed myself to one of them, saying I had 
telephoned the evening before to the Consulate but 
could get no answer. I asked permission to be of the 
party, giving as excuse that I was traveling alone around 
the world, and that the trip to Ayuthia under the cir- 
cumstances was so tempting that I could not resist 
it, and that I should try not to give trouble. The 
gentleman was perfectly courteous and extended a suf- 
ficient welcome to me, but there was no enthusiasm over 
this accession to their ranks. Indeed in acting thus, 
I showed more effrontery than I thought I possessed. 
After receiving his courteous answer, I subsided into 
my corner, gazing out of the window. Suddenly I 
thought I had no right to so good a seat, so up I got and 
asked the gentleman sitting inside to change seats. He 
said: "Of course, if you prefer my seat. " When I had 
got it, I answered: "I do not prefer your seat, but I 
have no right to the best place on this occasion. " He 
laughed and said he had been ten years in the country 
and knew it by heart. I was glad to get my good 
seat again and began to talk to the three men near me. 



142 The Old World 

We whiled away the time very agreeably and on reach- 
ing Ayuthia one of them asked my name so as to present 
me to the rest. There was only one lady in the German 
party, and I feared her more than all the men, for in 
matters of etiquette, ladies are often merciless. I was 
presented to her and she was quite courteous. We got 
off at the river and took little steam launches up the 
stream to see the elephant kraal where those huge 
beasts are entrapped. I was helped into the launch 
with care and courtesy. We had a short pleasant walk 
from the landing to the kraal and saw the strong stockade 
to imprison the elephants, with its exit and entrance 
arrangements for one beast at a time. We stood on a 
cool veranda, and if the kraal had been filled with 
elephants it would have been very exciting. One of the 
gentlemen told me he had been on an elephant hunt 
not many months ago when they had caught, by means 
of tame elephants, over one hundred. Only three had 
been retained. The others had all been released. 
Another told me that the train to Ayuthia had once been 
wrecked by the engine running over a wild elephant, one 
of a great herd in an adjacent field. We again took 
the launches to go to a museum. Each time we were 
on the river I was greatly entertained by all I saw. The 
stream is the high street, lined with shops on either side. 
These shops are either in covered boats or in houses 
built out over the water. A market was being held in 
boats, all filled with fruits and vegetables, a striking 
and animated scene. At the museum, we saw many 
objects which had belonged to the late king, but of 
most interest were three enormous mirrors in magni- 
ficent frames, presents from Louis XIV. to the then 
King of Siam, brought over in a sailing vessel from 
France. Some of the grand monarch's gifts had gone 



Through Old Eyes 143 

down in storms, but these magnificent mirrors are still 
well preserved. The grounds around the museum con- 
tain many images of Buddha collected from ruined 
temples. We then again took our boats to visit the 
ruins of the old city and capital which was destroyed 
by an invasion of the Burmese who border Siam on the 
north. Among these ruins, some huge pagoda towers 
are very impressive. In one ruined temple whose 
columns of brick are still standing and are very high, 
there is a huge Buddha, not a work of art as the Diabutzu 
of Kamakura, but still very impressive. The Siamese 
reverence their images greatly, and we found pieces 
of broken statues stuck in every conceivable place for 
fear they might be trodden upon if left on the ground. 
We returned these to their niches in deference to the 
gentle-minded Siamese devotees. After all these visits, 
we went to an open pavilion on the river where the 
lunch table was spread. There had been a refreshing 
breeze all day, very grateful, for walking up and down 
hills and climbing towers is hot work. I was thinly 
dressed and wore my pith hat, but alas! I had forgotten 
my handkerchief, and the whole morning I was trying 
to conceal the fact that I was wiping my face with 
the back of my hand. When I was pressed to take my 
seat at the bountiful board, I welcomed the clean white 
Japanese paper napkins as much as the food and drink. 
After we had been at table a while, some belated Ger- 
mans arrived in a rowboat. I said I had eaten enough 
and left the table to help make room for the new- 
comers. I took my seat at a side table where I opened 
my own lunch and found some fruit and nuts which 
served as a dessert, but my German friends saw that I 
had a cup of coffee. There was speech making and 
toasts which I followed as well as my deafness would 



144 The Old World 

« 

allow. After this we took the launches and visited still 
another temple near the river where there was an 
enormous Buddha on whose face the light fell so happily 
that it looked quite interesting. We then took the 
launches for the last time for the station where the 
Germans were devoured by thirst and brought out 
boxes of beer and soda water. I too was fearfully 
thirsty so I got some Siamese fruit vendors to open two 
enormous green cocoanuts. The milk of green cocoa- 
nuts is sweet and highly flavored. I enjoyed that 
drink more than iced champagne, but I feared from the 
quantity I had drunk that it might make me sick, but it 
was most wholesome. One of my German acquaint- 
ances told me that he had returned from a visit to 
Germany last year and that now if a man is not very 
pious there is little chance for him of promotion in the 
German service. We spoke some time on this subject, 
I saying that I believed the Kaiser imagined his dynasty 
and the Church to have their fortunes in the same boat. 
The gentleman said the Kaiser believed himself Emperor 
by divine right, was a romanticist in politics, and he, the 
^ speaker, was afraid the country would go to ruin under 
' this intolerable regime. I told him when I first went 
to Germany there were so many convictions for lese- 
majeste, but that now such convictions had dwindled 
to almost nothing so that I had great hopes for Ger- 
many. He agreed that this was a decided progress, but 
stni the Kaiser's strict religious convictions tended to 
exclude the best talents from the councils of the nation. 
The Crown Prince, he thought, was more liberal. We 
had to wait some time at the station as the train was an 
hour late, but two chairs were produced for me and the 
German lady, whose name I did not catch. I had not 
only got up at five that morning, but the courage it took 



Through Old Eyes 145 

to join a company of strangers on their picnic had 
prevented me from sleeping, exciting my brain so that 
I was very tired, but I talked German or English, as I 
thought would give most pleasure to my kind hosts and 
was awfully glad to see the train at last. There was no 
car specially reserved for the Germans as in the morning, 
so I placed myself in a first-class compartment where 
there were four young Siamese women with an old 
woman chaperon. They were dressed in fine native cos- 
tumes, but none looked so pretty as Medora in hers, 
for she and her mother have not only good taste but she 
is so extremely pretty. She has deep blue eyes, dark eye- 
lashes and eyebrows, with light curly hair, beautiful 
complexion and teeth. Some of the Germans came 
and talked to me in the Siamese compartment but 
said it was against etiquette for them to sit down in the 
presence of Siamese ladies. We got to Bangkok after 
dark, and my German friends asked if any one was to 
meet me. I determined they should be troubled with 
me no longer and said I needed not the slightest help. 
I got off quickly and jumped into a rickishaw. The 
man turned to know where to go and asked some- 
thing. I nodded and off we went, I knew not whither. 
When we got into the crowded streets, I began say- 
ing right and left to the passersby: "Do you speak 
English? Do you speak English?" After a long 
time I heard a voice say: "Yes." I called out: 
"Please come here." A young Chinaman came up 
and though he spoke poorly he understood my address 
and told the coolie where to take me. I was glad to 
get back to my quiet, peaceful quarters and slept like 
the dead. 

P. S. Nothing pleased me so much yesterday as to 
have one of the Germans, perhaps two, tell me that I 



146 The Old World 

had added to their pleasure on the excursion. Thank 
Heaven for that ! 

Saigon, French Indo-China, 
Hotel Continental, 

March 4, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I came up from Bangkok in a small ship which rocked 
like a nutshell on ordinary seas, but we had high gales 
all the way over, so the ship plunged first headforemost, 
then lurched helplessly from side to side till the frantic 
plunge was repeated. It was simple torture. All loose 
articles were thrown with violence from their places. 
Happily we had few passengers, so I was not sickened 
by the woes of others. I lay on the sofa in the upper 
saloon where our meals were served. Two men, one 
English the other French, beguiled the five weary days 
with their traveler's tales. My headache and bad eyes 
permitted me to do nothing, but I must go back to 
Bangkok and take up my narrative there. 

Sunday afternoon Mrs. Irwin, Medora, and I went to 
the Episcopal Church where the minister preached a 
sermon against modernism in which he declared in the 
most beautiful and musical voice, that modernism 
would analyze the tears of a mother, besides doing 
many other horrible things, that our duty was to 
hold on to that which the ages had consecrated, a 
sermon in short very musical but quite unreasonable. 
Through one of Mrs. Irwin's English friends, we 
were invited to the school for the daughters of the 
Siamese nobles. One of the king's cousins has 
charge of it. We were received by this princess 
and very pleasantly entertained. Refreshments were 
handed, tea was served in a monstrous Siamese faience 



Through Old Eyes 147 

teapot, holding very much over a gallon. The princess 
spoke English very well and we had a long con- 
versation before going to see the closing exercises 
of the school. The girls went through all kinds 
of evolutions accompanied by music, and I was 
especially pleased with the smallest class who acted with 
song and gesture the planting and gathering of crops. 
Their supper was spread on long tables, and I remarked 
that they had spoons for their rice. A few years ago 
fingers were considered good enough. In the midst of 
these exercises a party of English arrived and, as 
nobody was introduced, a general feeling of stiffness 
pervaded our circle from that moment, and we were 
glad to go. 

The night before I left Bangkok, Mr. R. got very 
worried with Mr. M. at dinner because Mr. M. had 
uttered some mildly advanced idea which, coming 
from a Scotchman, Mr. R. thought peculiarly reprehen- 
sible and began to quote the Bible on him with great 
evidence of authority. Mrs. Irwin becomes very ner- 
vous on such occasions, but I enjoy them, for I have 
become quite fond of Mr. R., and his illogical talk 
amuses me. 

To return to my trip to Saigon, The Frenchman told 
me he had traveled for years as mining expert for differ- 
ent companies. He says that the Annamites are utterly 
incomprehensible to him. This peninsula has the 
great river Mekong flowing through it from north to 
south. Between the Mekong and the sea on the east 
is a chain of mountains. Along the coast between 
the mountains and the sea, the Annamites live. He 
had to take them with him as bearers up to the moun- 
tains from time to time, and on such occasions they 
invariably fell ill and always said it was the "blue water ' ' 



148 The Old World , 

that made them sick. "That blue water," said one of 
them, "makes us all sick. It gets its color from the 
leaves of the forest, and that is why it is so unwholesome. 
The leaves fall into it and make it blue. " The French- 
man could not make them give up this idea and they 
fell sick in fact. Accustomed to drink water charged 
with mud and other impurities, the clear water, fresh 
from mountain springs, was repugnant to them. He 
says they are weaklings both morally and physically. 
He relates that once when traveling on the Red River 
in Tonkin he was sitting on the upper deck when he 
thought he saw a coolie, who was pulling up a heavy 
bucket of water, topple over into the current, but when 
his comrades began to laugh he concluded he was mis- 
taken and kept still. Soon another European ran 
up and cried: "Coolie overboard." He then looked 
back and saw the poor fellow struggling in the water. 
The steamer was stopped and the man rescued. I told 
this story to the Englishman who did not under- 
stand French. The Englishman said: "I have seen 
the very same thing several times, for being a con- 
tractor employing hundreds of Chinese and Malay 
coolies, I have often witnessed their apparent heart- 
lessness. But the laughter is, I think, forced and 
nervous to conceal their feelings. They have the 
supersition that if Fate intends a man for death, 
he who saves him must take the responsibility and 
care of him ever after. This is the superstition of the 
southeastern part of China, south of Canton." The 
Englishman related then that on one occasion a 
heavy weight from a crane broke loose and pinned the 
hand and one foot of a coolie fast. Not a single China- 
man would move to help him. Europeans had to be 
called, not only to rescue the man, but to nurse him in 



Through Old Eyes 149 

the hospital. His hand had to be amputated and he 
was permanently crippled. The company, however, 
gave him an easy place. On another occasion, he saw a 
launch upset a sampan and throw a Chinaman into the 
stream. Again the Europeans had to intervene; not a 
Chinanian would lift a hand. On another occasion, 
some coolies went into an empty benzine tank where the 
gas became ignited from the pipes. It exploded with 
violence, killing five men inside and wounding others 
outside. The Europeans had to take out the charred 
bodies and carry off the wounded to the hospital. Even 
dead, the Chinese refused to bury them, so Chinese 
had to be hired from a more northern province to do 
this. He said one day his Chinese servant looked so 
wretched he asked him what was the matter. The 
boy burst out laughing and said his father was dead. It 
seems the Chinese conceal their real feelings as a matter 
of etiquette and good manners. 

I arrived in Saigon this morning, and as I wished very 
much to visit the celebrated ruins of Angkor, I went at 
once to the consulate hoping to hear of some party of 
tourists going there, but could hear of none. The 
proprietor of this hotel advises me to go to the Director 
of Navigation for information. The celebrated ruins of 
Angkor are in Cambodia which is under French pro- 
tection. I had a visit from the French interpreter of 
the American Consul. He stayed some time and praised 
Mrs. Joblin, the Consul's wife, so eloquently and advised 
me so earnestly to pay that lady a visit that very 
evening, that I took his advice and went yesterday to 
the Consul's residence. She was out but I waited 
while reading some French newspapers. They have 
only old French newspapers at the hotel. At last the 
lady came and received me with great cordiality. 



150 The Old World 

« 

After a while the British Consul called and they talked 
about Mr. Joblin's trip to the country. He has gone on 
a tiger hunt, and his wife, who has only been married 
two years, is very uneasy about him. I told her that 
modern weapons gave the lions and tigers no chance 
against the sportsman. The British Consul advised 
me to give up the idea of going to Angkor as March is the 
worst month in all the year. It is at the end of the dry 
season when the water is so low that no decent boat can 
make the trip, only wretched little sampans which take 
eight or ten days to make the round trip. Mrs. 
Joblin invited me to remain to dinner but I preferred 
to return to the hotel. 

This morning at the unceremonious petit dejeuner, 
I got into the American moving- picture crowd who got 
back from Angkor two days ago. It cost their com- 
pany $2000 in gold to send them and after paying 
that sum they had to furnish their own food, and one 
was taken very ill and they were robbed of all their 
valuables, money, watches, jewelry, etc. They hate 
the Annamites and say they are inveterate thieves, that 
they surpass in this respect aU other nations, because 
an Annamite, they affirm, is born a thief and a liar. I 
had a long conversation with them after which I went 
to the manager of the French Navigation Company 
and said: "Monsieur, I come to you for encouragement. 
As to discouraging advice, I have been surfeited with 
it." He advised me to visit Pnom-Penh, the capital 
city of Cambodia. The steamer leaves here to-morrow 
night on its weekly trip to that point, and I have decided 
to go. When the water is high, the company sends tour- 
ists with comparative comfort and cheapness to the ruins 
of Angkor, but the waters are not now navigable. I am 
unfortunate in arriving in the worst month of the year. 



Through Old Eyes 151 

On Board Mekong Steamer 
Leaving Pnom-Penh, Cambodia, 

March 9, 1913. 

Dear Family: 

I hasten to get off a short letter informing you that I 
am on my way to the ruins of Angkor. I had given up 
the idea entirely, but on the boat from Saigon to Pnom- 
Penh, I found the Frenchman with whom I came up 
from Bangkok. He travels second class on steamers 
but is allowed to sit on deck where I talked to him. 
He was going to meet his wife in Saigon and said they 
wanted to see the ruins of Angkor. I told him if they 
would join me in this expedition, I should willingly pay 
half the expenses of the trip, for I did not have the cour- 
age to undertake it alone with native servants. This 
he agreed to do and we were very busy all day buying 
supplies and hunting up a good cook. Our landlord 
in Pnom-Penh, who had just been paid $2000 gold for 
the trip of the moving-picture company, refused to help 
us at all in this expedition. We not only had to buy our 
provisions but beds, mosquito nets, cooking vessels, 
etc. The Frenchman knows exactly what to buy. We 
give our Chinese cook one dollar silver a day. We hope 
to finish the trip in ten days, but everybody says it is 
impossible to fix the duration. I feel some uncertainty, 
but with good spirits and good company I can stand 
pretty much anything. I left my best clothes in 
the hotel, but I brought the pictures of our children. 
The boat shakes so I can hardly write and I must stop 
to look at the scenery. 



152 The Old World 

« 

Travelers' Bungalow near the 
Ruins of Angkor, Cambodia, 

March 17, 1913. 

My DEAR Family: 

I wrote last on the little steamer which brought us 
from Pnom-Penh to Kompong Chenang where we were 
to take a sampan for our further journey. Just before 
leaving Saigon I took dinner with Mrs. Joblin, and 
had a charming evening. The Consul and another 
Englishman called after dinner. The latter undertook 
to tell me about the ruins but he did not know they were 
Hindoo. He thought they were Mohammedan and 
built after a conquest by one of the Grand Moguls of 
Delhi. These ruins are purely Hindoo and built under 
the influence of Brahmanism. Buddhist priests sub- 
sequently converted the princes and peoples of these 
countries and added Buddha to the sacred images at 
Angkor Watt. Mrs. Joblin's dining-room boy had just 
lost his wife with genuine plague. He was not per- 
mitted to return until certain days of quarantine 
were over. He had also been vaccinated by the doctor 
to insure his immunity from the disease. Nobody 
seemed to be afraid of it. Science has relieved the 
world of a great part of its former terrors, but I must 
confess I am much addicted to being afraid. Mrs. 
Joblin had a delicious salad made of the tender top- 
most shoot of the betel nut palm. I don't know the 
name of this palm. The French call it Areca and 
the nut it bears Arak. But it is the leaf of a certain 
creeper in which a piece of the nut is enveloped, with 
one or two other ingredients, which is called betel, 
and this is chewed very generally all over the Orient. 
I shall now resume my narrative at Kompong Chenang. 
We got there in the afternoon and found the sampan 



Through Old Eyes 153 

destined for us, but the Frenchman was persuaded 
to take passage on the postal service sampan. He 
was told they had the right, master and crew, to allow 
one native passenger to go also, but four others were 
smuggled in, making five native passengers, besides a 
crew of six and our party of four including the Chinese 
cook. We were to have started at six o'clock, but 
as our steamer was to remain till nine that night, we 
decided to take dinner on it and leave at eight. We 
counted, however, without consulting our Oriental 
companions. There was a f^te going on at Kompong 
Chenang. Madame C. (wife of Monsieur) and I took 
a walk in the village and saw a good deal of it. There 
were a procession and an open-air theater, on the stage 
of which the personages of the procession, dressed 
gorgeously in tinsel and real embroidery with odd and 
picturesque headgear, acted, with the crowd looking on. 
It was highly interesting. The evening was cool and 
we felt fresh and ready to be amused. I regretted 
leaving when called to dinner. After that meal we 
wished to start, but found no crew on board, only a 
watchman, so Monsieur C. went off in search of the 
men. He was gone a long time and told me later he 
had to call in the police to help him. They found some 
of the men smoking opium in a den, others at the 
theater. The men said they had decided to stay in 
the village until next morning, but, by the help of the 
police, he rounded them in. However, they kept 
escaping, he running after them and hauling them back. 
At last he sent for the French customs official, and this 
gentleman very kindly came to our assistance. I heard 
him lecturing the men in loud tones, and threatening 
to send for the head of the police force. I felt sure the 
men couldn't understand him, but Monsieur C. explained 



154 The Old World 

• 

afterwards that a loud and menacing tone influences 
the natives greatly. So the amiable customs official 
kept up his menace of sending for the chief of police a 
long time and his tones were loud and threatening. 
With all this good help, we succeeded in getting off 
about twelve that night. The sampan had a sail but 
the men did a good deal of rowing for lack of wind. 
They slept partly on the top of the sampan (I don't 
know what kept them from rolling off), and partly 
obstructed the tiny prow and stern. Others slept in 
one end of the boat, so that once when I woke in the 
night I found the head of a native on the foot of my bed. 
The nights were too warm to use our mosquito nets so 
I put mine under my head. We did not, however, 
suffer too much from heat at night, but in the daytime 
it was very trying. We could not get out in the air 
till after five o'clock. We couldn't stand up in the 
sampan so we had to lie down all day on our quilts 
and fan ourselves. It was simply a question of endur- 
ance. I had imagined I should be able to write and 
read, but it was so dreadfully hot and the recumbent 
position so bad for my eyes that reading gave them too 
much pain. The mosquitoes bit us night and day so 
those three days and nights were no fun for us. I 
remember, however, sitting out in the httle prow with 
a fresh breeze when the others were asleep, and feeling 
very comfortable and happy eating sugar cane. Such 
hours restored my strength, and the nights grew cool 
after midnight. We had quite a number of those 
small lizards that catch mosquitoes, useful and inoffen- 
sive companions. On the wall near my bed was a big 
spider which could have easily covered the palm of my 
hand. I looked upon it as a friend also, for it only 
wanted to catch mosquitoes. We left Kompong 



Through Old Eyes 155 

Chenang on the 9th and reached our landing on the 
12th. We had stopped once during that time to deliver 
mail and had gone ashore for a walk, I saw in a native 
garden string beans a yard long. I looked to find 
some ripe enough for seed but all were immature. We 
had some for dinner one day, but they were not so good 
as our short ones, perhaps they were too old. Our 
Chinese is quite a good cook. Monsieur C. bought 
some excellent canned vegetables and fruit. He 
invested also largely in wines and mineral waters, I 
think he drinks more wine than is good for his health, 
but as far as the expense to me is concerned he more 
than earns what he enjoys. He is the manager of the 
party and I am saved all care. His wife is the house- 
keeper. Of course, I should not shirk any duty, but he 
would not share his responsibilities with any one, for he 
is very keen to keep down expenses, I find too that it 
pleases Madame best to have an undivided authority 
over the cook. Under these circumstances I often 
feel that I am some grand personage traveling with a 
companion and a manager, or steward of the household. 
Of cotirse, I have to do exactly as I am told, but this 
also is the r61e of grand personages who, I believe, are 
more or less slaves to those they employ. Monsieur C. 
had telegraphed for bullock carts to meet us at our 
landing. It was really a picturesque sight to see the 
four carts, each pulled by two bullocks, come down 
into the lake to meet the sampan. We had, before 
landing, to leave the postal sampan and get into a 
much smaller one as the lake is now very low. Monsieur 
C. told the head man of the big sampan that he would 
not pay him the sum agreed upon because he had 
crowded into the boat four extra native passengers. 
This disconcerted the man very much, though he did 



156 The Old World 

not raise a row as many people woiild have done. The 
Cambodians are gentle in their manners. I was sorry 
the man was not paid in full, but possibly Monsieur C. 
was within his legal rights. When the bullock carts 
came down into the lake, they were all unhitched and 
the drivers pulled the carts alongside the sampan so 
that we got in very conveniently. It was already 
late when we finally got well started on a drive of thir- 
teen miles. Our carts were narrow, set far within the 
two big wheels. Outside the wheels and all around is a 
framework of wood. The bullocks are hitched rather 
far apart each in front of one of the big wheels. They 
are lively and often vicious because the drivers prod 
them with a sharp iron fastened into the end of the whip. 
I could not get into my cart except from behind where it 
is highest from the ground, because the bullocks wanted 
to kick me. The driver prodded one so cruelly (I did 
not know at the time the whip contained the sharp iron 
prod) that the animal kicked the wooden bar in front 
of the wheel till it made itself temporarily lame. I 
thought its hatred was directed against me until I exam- 
ined the whip. Once, at a stopping place, Madame C. 
and I were seated in the same cart, she in front of me. 
The stupid driver, when he wanted to hitch his animals 
to the pole, lifted it so suddenly that he upset the cart. 
I caught Madame C, who was thrown violently against 
me. We just did manage to keep in the cart though 
in the most uncomfortable position, the pole high in the 
air, having escaped the hands of the driver. When we 
reached Siem Reap it was dark. I was so stiff and so 
covered with dust and perspiration that I was in per- 
fec;t misery. The carts have no springs, the bullocks 
were forced to trot, the breeze was behind us the 
whole way, so that we were enveloped in thick clouds 



Through Old Eyes 157 

of dust — a suffocating drive in which I had to hold 
on to prevent myself being hurled out, and keep my 
mouth shut for fear of having my teeth smashed 
together. At the village of Siem Reap the solitary 
French Resident, M. Mercier, came out and asked us to 
dine with him. No invitation could have been more 
welcome. Madame C. and I were carried to the bath- 
room where we got rid of many layers of dust by shak- 
ing and washing. It was a perfect delight after three 
days in the sampan to sit at a clean, well-ordered table. 
We enjoyed it hugely. A big punka kept us cool and 
free from insect pests. At the end of the dinner, M. 
Mercier brought out a present for Madame C. and me, 
the very thing I had longed for and which I wanted to 
send home to the children, a description of the ruins of 
Angkor by Pierre Loti, published in the "Illustration" 
of Paris with most exquisite pictures. I shall send it on 
from Saigon. Our carts were sent on by M. Mercier 
to the bungalow, so after supper he ordered out his 
nice carriage and horses and sent us here in very short 
time. This bungalow is delightful ; large airy rooms and 
verandas all around, each room with private bath. It 
has been lately built by the French to make the trip 
more attractive to tourists. There is a well-appointed 
kitchen for oiu* cook and plenty of good, clean water. 
We are charged nothing except for service, towels, 
lamps, etc. We are really living here in luxury, and I 
wish we could stay a couple of weeks, but Monsieur C. 
has decided that we can remain only six nights and five 
days. We enjoy the luxury of our private bathrooms 
so much. That first night when I got to bed I was 
just composing myself to sleep when I heard a noise 
under my pillow. I was much startled and thought 
of a scorpion or snake. I put the pillow at the foot of 



158 The Old World 

« 

the bed and waited — again a sudden running under- 
neath my head. I lifted the mosquito net and threw 
the pillow out. I lay down again but again the same 
running, rustling sound under my head. I was so afraid 
I wanted to knock on the wall for help, but I have 
discovered that Monsieur C. is not a person to bear 
patiently with what he thinks is foolishness, so I said 
to myself that I had to stand it without annoying 
others. I concluded very justly that it was a lizard 
running under my mattress. As the net was tucked in 
all around I hoped it could not reach me, and tired out 
I fell asleep not waking till morning. After that I saw 
that the net was well tucked in every night, but night 
before last a frightful odor began to develop itself, an odor 
of carrion. I hardly slept at all, but I thought if I hunted 
for it I should let in a host of mosquitoes which came in 
swarms at night and I was not willing to risk them. I 
might too have slept a little, as there was so much air 
in the room, but for some Cambodian women in the 
adjoining room who talked till a very late hour, making 
me very nervous. Next morning I turned back the 
mattress and found quite a large lizard, not the small 
kind we see on the walls catching mosquitoes, but a 
much larger variety. I believe the creature was 
wounded against the bed-springs the first night, for it 
ceased its movements from that time. It had big jaws 
and a long body. It would have frightened me very 
much had it got in the bed with me. The morning 
after our arrival. Monsieur C. said to me that as the 
ruins were near and the bungalow in full sight, there 
could be no danger in my visiting them alone, and he 
wished me to do so. I was much astonished at this 
and answered: "But I am afraid to go alone." "No 
danger at all, ' ' he replied. I asked : ' ' Could I not keep 



Through Old Eyes 159 

you and Madame in sight without your being conscious 
of my presence?" "Impossible, " he retorted. I then 
said, "All right," and started off. Till that moment I 
had been simply bewildered because taken by surprise, 
but on leaving the bungalow my senses returned, and I 
felt sure there must be a guide somewhere. I called for 
the manager of the bungalow, an Indian from Pondi- 
cherry, and sure enough his cousin was ready to accom- 
pany me. No sooner did I find myself with a guide and 
entirely independent than I saw that Monsieur C. could 
not have done me a greater favor than in insisting on our 
seeing the ruins separately. He is a very nervous man, 
is infected with malaria, and the expense of this trip 
with the consequent loss of time means much to him. 
He wanted to be absolutely free to go and come without 
having to consult any one. Then I saw that I needed 
help, scrambling over great blocks of stone and getting 
up and down enormously high stone stairways, quite 
dangerous in places. I needed a guide all to myself. 
I was so happy when I found how very wisely Monsieur 
C. had decided, that I said so to his wife on coming back, 
and since then there has been a little more cordiality 
on his part than hitherto. We are not congenial, and he 
has traveled so much for mine owners and corporations, 
has been so accustomed to guide himself with charts 
which he often makes himself, that he had no need for a 
guide, nor did he want to spend his time helping me, 
keeping me from brealcing my neck. His wife is from 
Poland and is one of the best wives I have ever seen. 
She helps him wherever possible but never exacts any- 
thing from him, is always trying to spare him, in fact. 
He has a' care-worn face and I should feel real sympathy 
for him were he less hard on others. He has had several 
stormy scenes with our cook. He says the man is not 



i6o The Old World 

straight in his accounts. I can understand this point of 
view, but he is always hard on servants, speaks harshly, 
thinks that is the best way of managing them. I do 
not. I want them to like us and serve us willingly, but 
as I said, he works as hard for me as for himself, for we 
are sharing expenses. Madame expressed a wish one 
day to take a ride on an elephant and I said I should 
willingly bear the expense, but she told me each person 
had to pay separately, two silver dollars for a half day. 
I spoke to the manager to engage an elephant for 
Madame and myself for yesterday afternoon. I asked 
if he would object to Monsieur accompanying us. 
When he understood that I alone intended to pay, he 
consented readily, but afterwards got me to change the 
afternoon as he wanted to take his family to the yearly 
fishing festival on the two elephants. When Monsieur 
C. heard the afternoon had been changed as a conven- 
ience to the manager's family, he was strong in his con- 
demnation of the man whose business it was to please 
the tourists. I looked upon it as a very simple thing for 
us to change the day, whereas the manager could only 
take his family on the day of the yearly fishing festival. 
Then Monsieur C, dislikes the Chinese and he has heard 
me say that I like them, the same with the Japanese. 
One other thing: some American tourists, those moving- 
picture people, acted very offensively to the French 
officials. The government has instructed them to do 
what they can for tourists, but their well-meant cour- 
tesies were mistaken, and the French heard them warn- 
ing each other against being cheated by the officials. 
This has thrown the Americans under a cloud. I have 
often had reason, when abroad, to regret the rudeness of 
my countrymen. It is always those who cannot speak 
the language and who are ignorant of foreign customs. 



Through Old Eyes i6i 

A day or two ago, the guide was carrying me through 
the little village near here to show me some creepers 
bearing the betel leaves, when my attention was called 
to a raised platform covered with a roof. On this plat- 
form a crowd of Cambodians was gathered. They were 
busily cooking over several fires. I asked for an 
explanation and was told there was to be a native 
wedding. I immediately wanted to see the preparations 
and secure an invitation to the wedding. I ascended 
the platform by a ladder and was politely received by 
the natives, all of whom, men and women, were engaged 
in preparing every known Cambodian delicacy for the 
wedding which had been fixed for the following day at 
six o'clock in the morning. I was offered by each cook- 
ing group some of these delicacies, but as the natives 
offered them in their fingers I had a prejudice against 
eating them. However, not wishing to give offense, I 
took a little each time and tasted it, accompanying the 
action by facial expressions denoting intense satisfaction 
and exclamations of enthusiastic delight. This was 
greeted by the crowd with loud laughter and genuine 
pleasure. I became immensely popular, a desirable 
guest who appreciated everything thoroughly but whose 
bad digestion did not permit any excess in eating. The 
guide explained this to them and told them how deli- 
cious and tempting I found the food. Next morning I 
was on hand at the early hour to witness the ceremony, 
but I then learned that it had been postponed owing to 
the funds having given out, and that the bridegroom 
was off trying to negotiate a loan. I was surprised, for 
I had seen so much material for cooking the day before : 
flour, grated cocoanut, vermicelli (a native product 
which looks very pretty and is said to be mucilaginous), 
fowls, and every kind of vegetables. I began to fear 



i62 The Old World 

I might not see this ceremony after all, for if the bride- 
groom had as many difficulties to overcome as Yuan 
Shi Kai with the Chinese loan I should be elsewhere 
when the wedding took place. Happily for me the loan 
was successfully negotiated, and next morning at six 
o'clock, on my arrival, I was carried into an adjoining 
house to see the bride. vShe had on a "penoong" and 
jacket of various and conflicting colors, her headdress 
was extremely gaudy with dangling ornaments hang- 
ing about the forehead, her black hair rising in a cone 
from the crown of the head, I gave her a silver dollar 
as my modest contribution which seemed to satisfy 
the women attendants, who all wanted to talk to me. I 
then went out for fresh air. We had to wait a long 
time for the bridegroom and his clan, but they came at 
last. He was immediately taken in charge by three 
men of importance, one being the mayor. He was 
seated under an Areca palm which bears the nut chewed 
so generally in the Orient. The whole ceremony, at 
which no priest was present, seemed to combine a 
" cult " of the betel with the civil ceremony of marriage. 
In front of the groom, placed on the ground, were three 
small, prettily formed pyramids made of the tassels of 
the Areca and its nuts in all stages of ripeness. A 
cooked pig's head on a brass platter and many other 
dishes of food were placed in a circle around him. His 
seat was a low stool so that he could have the pleasure 
of smelling all these viands and convincing himself 
that his money had been well spent. Two of the men 
in charge then took him by the hands and led him up 
the ladder where he was received by a young girl, repre- 
senting the bride's family. Water was poured on their 
joined hands and on his feet (not enough, I thought) 
from a small vase. Then his conductors took him to 



Through Old Eyes 163 

two mats spread side by side on the platform, each 
provided with a small cushion covered by a white cloth. 
Here he was put in a painfully cramped position, leaning 
forward with the palms of his hands spread out on the 
cushion. In this constrained posture, he was left for a 
long time, while his friends drank white liquor, ate 
sweetmeats, and chewed betel at their ease. From time 
to time, one would kneel beside him and repeat a prayer 
to which nobody paid any attention except perhaps the 
unfortunate groom. The onlooking crowd laughed at 
every incident and made their remarks thereon; the 
old women, as befitting their age and experience, 
vociferated advice at every moment. A dog fight 
occurred. All the food, including the grinning pig's 
head, was brought up the ladder and placed in a circle 
around the tortured groom. To these things were 
added some live ducks and chickens, a cock and a hen, 
all on brass dishes and extremely dissatisfied with the 
arrangements. Musicians were seated just outside 
the food circle and played continuously. I rather liked 
the music, the drums were not too loud and the instru- 
ments were all extremely curious, but the tom-tom man 
made a horrible din from time to time. From big boxes 
and hampers packages of food done up in fresh banana 
leaves were distributed to the crowd. A notary was 
inscribing something to one side and taking up a col- 
lection of copper coins from all present. My guide 
told them I had already paid a silver dollar, which was 
no doubt considered munificent and befitting my rank. 
I was offered cigars, betel, and fruit, all of which I 
declined very politely, signifying by gestures that my 
stomach was very fuU. I had breakfasted before I left 
the house. My guide smoked and ate freely. He was 
absurdly ignorant on every subject, and by nature pro- 



i64 The Old World 

foundly lazy and stupid, but so invaluable to me that I 
almost loved him. At last the bride was brought and 
put on the other mat in the same painfully crouching 
position. Her advent did not stop the laughter nor the 
eating nor the drinking (the latter only by the select 
few), but it was a hopeful sign to the much-enduring 
groom. Now more praying to which nobody listened 
except the young couple. Then tallow candles were lit 
and extinguished, the smoke therefrom blown into the 
face of the groom, this repeated several times, and as a 
finishing touch, the smut from the wicks smeared on the 
faces of both. The groom' s face was already ornamented 
with dots of white paint with which the bride's was 
also smeared. A ring of persons was now formed around 
the couple, and lighted tallow candles passed from hand 
to hand many times. Everybody was gay, full of laugh- 
ter and talk, even the three officiating chief men were 
boisterous at times in their mirth. Only the yoimg 
couple was serious — the groom from long endurance of 
the torturing postiire, also, perhaps, from the journey he 
had been forced to take in order to raise the supplemen- 
tary loan. At last the sorely tried couple, after the per- 
formance of many puerile ceremonies in which the betel 
played a conspicuous part (the pyramids of tassels and 
nuts having been dismantled), were allowed to enter 
the cabin and repose on a mat, having been declared 
man and wife. I left the scene while the music, the 
feasting, and the noise were still going on, and were 
likely to continue for a long time. The bridal presents 
were baskets of rice, bundles of vermicelli, and such 
like produce. There were quantities of cooked chicken 
and the body of a cooked pig, huge caldrons oE boiled 
rice which I was pleased to see was of the dark kind, 
and bananas, besides packages and boxes of provisions — 



Through Old Eyes 165 

a very aristocratic wedding which feasted everyone 
connected with the two families. 

Among the many kindnesses of M. Mercier, the French 
Resident, at Siem Reap was the change of our bullock 
carts for others with cane-bottomed seats. They hold 
two persons. The driver sits on the tongue or pole. 
They have no springs, but the seats have a back and 
the cane bottoms are a great improvement. That first 
evening we had to sit flat on our belongings in the most 
cramped and uncomfortable positions. My guide told 
me the other day that last December a tiger came into 
the court yard of the bungalow and killed his dog. He 
heard the noise, as it was only half-past ten at night, 
opened his door and raised such an alarm that the tiger 
ran away, leaving the dead dog. I don't know whether 
the tale is true or not, but at night I believe it and am 
afraid a tiger may enter the open door. We sleep with 
doors and windows opened wide. I asked the guide's 
cousin, the custodian of the bungalow, if there were any 
truth in the tale. He said a panther had indeed come 
into the court and killed a dog, but that did not reas- 
sure me, as the panthers over here are big and fierce. 
Monsieur C. told me that in traveling in Laos, a pro- 
vince in the north of Siam, he heard of a district entirely 
deserted by its inhabitants because they could not 
withstand the tigers, which were too numerous to be 
resisted. Monsieur Mercier told me that the French 
government paid four dollars for every tiger or panther 
skin in order to reduce the number, and Monsieur C. who 
went down to Siem Reap to see M. Mercier, returning 
late after dark, said the odor of wild beasts was very 
strong in the woods. It seems, from what he tells me, 
that tigers and panthers give out a strong odor at night 
in the tropics. Well, I am glad the two Cambodian 



1 66 The Old World 

dames took the room next mine. I now have persons 
on either side of me. I laugh at my fears during the day 
but never at night. I look upon the mosquito net as a 
protection, hoping it will frighten off the tigers. 

When the custodian of the bungalow told me he 
wanted the elephants to go to the fish-catching festival 
I immediately decided to go also. The guide warned 
me it was too severe a trip, his cousin also said it was 
only possible on elephants, but I persisted, not believing 
either of them. I took the guide with me in the cane- 
bottom bullock cart pulled by two lively and vicious 
bullocks. The custodian put all his family on one 
elephant while a party of his friends were crowded into 
the howdah on the other. I had to stop at Siem Reap 
to ch,ange carts, as mine wa^ about to lose a wheel. 
When M. Mercier saw me he was amazed to hear I was 
going to the festival, a distance of thirteen miles each 
way from our bungalow over dreadful roads. He said : 
" Stop on your return and let me hear how you stood the 
trip." I said I should, but I did not for very good 
reasons. Of course I did not understand that not a 
single person of all our numerous party knew the road. 
The elephants carried huge loads in the oddest looking 
howdahs I have ever seen, shaped like a double fronted 
poke bonnet. One of the elephants had a young one a 
couple of years old following it. My cart began by 
fording the river, and the bullocks were nearly swim- 
ming; my feet got under the water but I held up my 
clothing. Then off we went at first on a good road, 
but soon we lost our way and got into rice fields with 
the filthiest water. The bullocks lashed this mire all 
over me with their tails. They had such unnaturally 
long tails with bushy ends, seemingly made to besprinkle 
and bedaub with. The driver tried to hold their tails 



Through Old Eyes 167 

but had to give it up. I was a sight to behold, and 
such jolting and plunging in the loose ooze as I never 
experienced in all my life. The young elephant was 
supremely happy. He ate his fill of the ears of rice, 
and like all young creatures was insatiable. He did 
great damage to the crops. At last the custodian took 
a horse from one of the outriders and succeeded in 
finding someone to guide us. We then went across 
fields where no roads existed, thumped and bumped 
until I felt in a state approaching dissolution. The 
driver kept pointing to his haunches to indicate that he 
was very sore indeed. He was seated on the plank at 
the end of the tongue. I had no time to consider the 
state of his bruises or to offer any remedy for them. 
On such occasions, only the primitive instincts of 
self-preservation remain. After what seemed an eter- 
nity, during which the driver kept assuring me the cart 
could never reach the fishing place, we did get there, 
and it was happiness not unmixed to tumble out and 
hobble on my feet. We saw about three hundred men 
out in the shallow waters of a lake left in the woods by 
the recession of the great lake. They had hamper 
baskets in their hands and drove the fish into nets and 
dipped them out with the baskets. I never saw so 
many fish in my life. The scene was picturesque, too. 
The governor, a native, was there to see that the ad- 
ministration got one out of every ten baskets of fish. 
They were cut and salted and laid out to dry in the sun. 
The governor offered me a chair and the custodian's 
wife introduced me to her select circle of friends. She, 
too, is an Indian from Pondicherry. She had her three 
children with her and a young woman help, half Anna- 
mite and half Chinese, who was almost white; the 
custodian's wife was very dark. There was also a lady 



i68 The Old World 

cousin from Pondicherry with pretty features and 
exquisite teeth, and two Japanese ladies. I was asked 
to dine with the party. Indeed they all treated me 
with extreme courtesy. The dinner was very good ; hot 
fried fish, a cold capon, a curry made of wild duck, with 
dainties for dessert. The ladies at dinner spoke with 
great disparagement of the Cambodian ladies and their 
customs. I think they were jealous of them. The 
wife of the custodian had the best manners. She was 
the dispenser of hospitality and an attentive hostess. 
One of the Japanese ladies was extremely pretty with 
a very handsome gold watch and chain. She bears a 
French name. At least so she was introduced to me. 
After dinner quilts were spread for the siesta, which is 
the universal habit over here, but I wanted to get 
back. I had seen everything and the way was long. 
My watch, too, deceived me. The many thumps 
and bumps may have deranged its mechanism. At any 
rate it was an hour and a half fast, so I packed up two 
fine fishes, still living, in the bark of the Areca and took 
my seat in the cart. The reluctant guide and driver, 
the latter still patting his bruised muscles and appealing 
for sympathy, had to follow me. He now knew the 
road, the bullocks had already done their worst. We 
avoided the rice fields and the greater part of the road- 
less way. It was, however, very hot, but we drove fast 
enough to have a breeze and avoid the dust. When at 
length we reached Siem Reap, though I longed to stop 
and have a cool drink, I was too afraid of being seen by 
M. Mercier, so we hurried through the village. Bullocks 
are so much stronger than horses. Our bullocks kept up 
a lively trot and we made the thirteen miles in good 
time. The sun was still shining brightly when I got 
back to the bungalow, and I had time to bathe, wash out 



Through Old Eyes 169 

my dress, clean my hat, change my clothing entirely, 
and then at last rest before dinner. The jolting wore a 
hole in my dress behind. It washes like a rag and does 
not need ironing. I hang it out at night and the creases 
all fall out. 

Pnom-Penh, 
March 23, 1913. 

The day before we left Angkor, we took our elephant 
ride — my guide and I on one beast, Monsieur C. and 
Madame on the other, with Master Elephant following 
and eating branches the whole three miles. We went 
to Siem Reap to see the cremation of a Buddhist priest 
or bonze. On arriving, we followed the crowd and saw 
the float very gaudily but pleasingly decorated rising 
in tiers to the casket, which occupied the top of the 
tall structure. It all glittered with gold and silver leaf 
ornaments. The people were pulling it and extremely 
happy, for there is no more popular festival than the 
cremation of a favorite bonze. I believe they think 
there is nothing more becoming in the life of a bonze 
than his taking leave of it. It is necessary, however, to 
wait seven or more months before the fun begins, during 
which time the remains are preserved in oil. For many 
consecutive days they haul their beloved pastor on his 
float to the sound of music, of jest, and of laughter, with 
much eating and drinking thrown in. There are also 
sports of acrobats and the dancing of young men and 
maidens in fantastic costumes resembling their architec- 
ture. The present festival was not so grand as the one 
Sedley and I witnessed in Burma where two superior 
bonzes were cremated. At Siem Reap, a very old 
bonze was still hanging on to life. He was carried in a 
suspended palanquin borne by many men with a great 



170 The Old World 

red and yellow umbrella held over him. He looked 
very grave, the only serious member of the company. 
I did not, however, have the satisfaction of seeing the 
cremation ceremony. As in Burma, we had to leave 
before the final act. Monsieur Mercier overwhelmed 
us with kindnesses. He sent us home in his carriage and 
ordered the driver to spend the night at the bungalow 
so as to bring us in next day to lunch with him, after 
which his carriage took us a long distance on our return 
journey. We blessed that man who seems the soul of 
generosity and courtesy. 

As there were parts of the ruins I wanted to see again, 
I was up that last morning before daylight, had my 
breakfast, and was off in my cart to Angkor Thom, two 
miles distant. Angkor Watt is near the bungalow. 
I was back punctually at eight o'clock and paid a last 
visit to Angkor Watt and then had a rest before the 
carriage took us to Siem Reap to lunch. The lunch was 
fine and we enjoyed it in much comfort. M. Mercier 
gave Madame and me each a panther's skin, very 
prettily spotted. I had second choice, so mine is not 
quite so pretty as Madame's. I shall send it to John 
Davis. He will have to pay duty on it and pay to have 
it made into a rug with teeth and stuffed head, but I 
imagine he will like it. We left M. Mercier's house in 
his carriage which took us to where our carts were 
waiting. They had carried our luggage very early 
that morning, and having cane-bottom seats, the 
drive did not compare in discomforts to our first one. 
The dust was terrible and again the wind was at our 
back. We reached the lake shore at sundown. The 
bullocks pulled us out to our sampan, but it was a neat 
little sampan all to ourselves. It belongs to the govern- 
ment and M. Mercier rented it to us. It was not only 



Through Old Eyes 171 

much cheaper than ourpOvStal sampan but far more com- 
fortable. We were again three days on the lake which is 
very large. At high water, it is 125 miles long and 25 
broad, but in the long dry season it shrinks and be- 
comes very shallow, averaging a little over a yard in 
depth. It is also traversed by sand banks which render 
any kind of navigation troublesome. At this season 
of low water the fishermen build their houses on posts of 
bamboo over the water, and the fish they catch is some- 
thing almost incredible. We were given all the fish we 
wanted to eat, both going and coming, free of charge. 
The fishermen would dip a basket into an enclosure 
staked off in the water and offer us our choice of the 
struggling fish. On our return, it was a great relief to 
be rid of the native passengers we carried on the postal 
sampan. Monsieur C. has lived so many years in the 
forests hunting for mines for various companies in 
many parts of the world, in the Ural Mountains, in Asia, 
and in Russia, and all over this peninsula that he has 
acquired curious habits. For instance, he never wore 
shoes and socks on the sampan! I did not object to 
this, though I did not imitate it, but what I objected 
to was a nervous habit he had of always playing with his 
toes, pushing his fingers between them, and running his 
finger nails under the toe nails. At meals, he continued 
this between each course and then cut the bread for his 
wife and me. I tried to obtain permission to cut the 
bread myself, but this he would not permit, saying it was 
too hard, which indeed it was, for it had all been baked in 
Pnom-Penh before we started. Then I tried to tempt 
him to wash his hands before each meal, hoping to get 
my slice of bread cut immediately after, but it was no 
use. I washed my hands ostentatiously and then filled 
the basin with fresh water and made the proposal for 



172 The Old World .1 

general handwashing. He paid not the slightest atten- 
tion to it. Then I would say to myself (I always fly 
to the Bible in time of trouble) : "Is not the life more 
than meat and the body than raiment, " and choke 
down the stale bread. It is true he bathed every day in 
the muddy waters of the lake, jumping in and wading 
around. He uniformly behaved in a very modest 
manner, excessively so in many respects. But for this 
habit of toying with his toes all the time he was seated, 
which was particularly objectionable when we were at 
meals, there would have been nothing in his conduct 
to criticize. Since our return, he has given me a bill 
of my expenses and has acted very honorably, debiting 
me with only one-half the expense of the elephant ride 
when I had offered to pay it all. He worked hard to 
keep down expenses, and while I thought him unneces- 
sarily hard on the coolies and on the cook (he had no 
sympathy for Orientals), I owe him the trip which I 
could not have taken alone. I feel very grateful to him 
and peculiarly so to his wife who is an admirable 
woman. She showed me many little attentions en route 
in the sampan, when the heat was almost unbearable 
during the day. He is a silent man and she lends her- 
self to his every humor. I told her that all the men 
should go to Poland for wives. 

The photos I send will give you a better idea of the 
marvelous ruins of Angkor Watt and Angkor Thom 
than anything I can say. They are perfectly beautiful 
in their setting of tropical forests. I was completely 
fascinated by these forests and longed for the leisure to 
go deeper and deeper into them. Some of the trees are 
exactly like fluted columns, for they are formed of three 
or more which have grown together with the most per- 
fect symmetry. There are other white barked trees, 



Through Old Eyes 173 

ficus of India, I think they are called, which look like 
dancing girls spreading their skirts around them in the 
dance. This effect is produced by the tall, thin white 
roots which have arranged themselves in strange swirls 
and curves about the stem. Angkor Watt is the best 
preserved and most beautiful ruin I have ever seen. 
It is a marvel of Indian art. It has three encircling 
walls, each enclosing a higher courtyard, till upon the 
third and last one, which is entirely paved, rises the 
imposing mass of the great central temple, built of huge 
stones. Its four fagades are approached by immensely 
high flights of stone steps, three to each side, making in 
all twelve gigantic stairways leading up to this Holy of 
Holies. At each corner of this massive temple rises a 
splendid tower, while from the middle springs the great- 
est tower of all over the central dome under which is 
the sanctuary, where one sees still many idols preserved. 
But so many bats have taken refuge there that I was 
afraid to enter it. Around the second encircling wall 
is a gallery wherein are huge bas-reliefs representing 
scenes from the Sanskrit poems. Outside the first wall 
is an enormous moat making an island of the grounds 
on which stand these superb ruins. Angkor Thom is 
two miles distant. It has been invaded to such an 
extent by the tropical forests that in many places 
it has been devoured by the trees, while in others 
the long roots and creepers still hold the stones 
together. But everywhere the rich vegetation threat- 
ens the remaining ruins with destruction. The French 
are cutting it all away and propping up the stones, 
but these efforts to preserve necessarily destroy much 
of the charm. Every tower at Angkor Thom has a 
huge bas-relief of Brahma on each of its four sides. 
These faces of Brahma, which Pierre Loti seems to take 



174 The Old World 

for those of a woman, are extremely interesting and well 
carved, some in perfect preservation, others dislocated 
by the vines and trees, growing on the towers. Many 
of the carvings at these ruins, particularly those of 
Angkor Watt, possess much delicacy and charm, to- 
gether with such a lifelike grace that they must rank 
high as works of art. When I went through India with 
Sedley in 1897, I do not remember seeing any such 
beautiful carvings. 

Kampot, Cambodia, 

March 26, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I wrote last soon after reaching Pnom-Penh on my 
return from the ruins of Angkor. While I was still in 
the bungalow, a French photographer, who was taking 
views of the ruins, told me that the caves of Kampot 
were very remarkable and that I should certainly visit 
them. As the place is easily reached from Pnom-Penh 
and I had time to spare, I determined to do so. This 
photographer came to the bungalow with two Cambo- 
dian women who had the room next to mine and who so 
tranquillized my mind apropos of the tigers till their 
incessant talk made me realize that real troubles are 
worse than imaginary ones. I got out of bed in the 
night, put on my dressing-gown, and found the photog- 
rapher on the front veranda where, on hearing my com- 
plaint, he straightway caused the Cambodian ladies 
to shut up so effectually that neither by day nor by 
night did I ever hear the murmur of their voices again, 
so that indeed I began to feel very sorry for these poor 
mute creatures. Monsieur C, too, complained of them 
to the poor photographer. I believe they were his 
assistants in his photography, for he always called 



Through Old Eyes 175 

them mes Cambogiennes. Monsieur C. said they often 
walked the veranda in front of his room and always 
looked in, so they were reprimanded for this also. I 
was truly sorry for them. 

Well, as for the caves of Kampot, they are not worth 
visiting, but they may have made pretty pictures for 
the photographer. To return to Pnom-Penh, Monsieur 
and Madame C. left for Saigon, and I missed them very 
much, for we always had merry conversations at table. 
Monsieur's manners were all that could have been desired 
as soon as he got shoes on his feet. After they left I felt 
quite isolated. I went one afternoon to visit the royal 
palace. It was about five o'clock and the aide-de-camp 
of the king received me. In a little while a jolly-looking 
man came into the room and advanced with extended 
hand. I asked : " Is this the king or the minister of the 
palace? " ''The king, " answered the aide-de-camp. He 
has a fine open face, eyes full of good humor, is seventy- 
three years old, I heard, and takes life very easy. His 
duties are shadowy, his pay never withheld, his palace 
and grounds ample. It was he indeed who asked for a 
French protectorate, as his neighbors were threatening 
to invade him. The kings of Carnbodia trace a direct 
descent from the royal race who built the marvels of 
Angkor Watt and Angkor Thom, and the present king 
has an easy dignity and good humor which inspire liking. 
He asked me to take a seat and the aide-de-camp trans- 
lated for us, but he soon went off to take a drive under 
a big yellow silk umbrella. I walked about the grounds 
and went into the royal pagoda. It is paved with 
plaques of solid silver, is big too, and there is a little 
image of Buddha carved out of a solid emerald, but it is 
in such a lofty shrine that I could not see it well. 

Between Pnom-Penh and Kampot there is a regular 



176 The Old World 

automobile service twice a week which takes the whole 
day for the trip. Then there is another private auto 
service which competes with the post machine. The 
chauffeur came to see me and charged twenty dollars 
for the trip. I told him I had decided to take the post 
for six dollars for the round trip. He then said he was 
making the trip anyway and would take me at the same 
price. We left yesterday at seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing, I sitting in front with the chauffeur, and the body 
of the vehicle filled with native mothers and babies. 
On the way we took a good many more passengers with 
luggage and packages. The chauffeur worked so hard 
to satisfy his patrons that he quite enlisted my sympa- 
thies. I think he is the owner of the machine. The 
babies paid nothing and took up much room. There 
were also boys who expected to travel at half price, so 
there was hard work for the energetic Frenchman. One 
discontented passenger in a fine "penoong" and white 
linen jacket refused to be packed like a sardine. He 
refused also to be seated on a leather valise at the side of 
the machine between the wheels, so I offered him a place 
at my feet. This seemed to him befitting his dignity 
and his fine clothes, so he put his bundle down in front 
of me and sat on it. I enjoyed the drive very much. 
The road was very fine, no dust, no necessity of talking 
to any one, with a delightfully cool wind. The distance 
is ninety-four miles and we got here by twelve o'clock. 
I got out and walked a little at some of the villages 
where we stopped to deliver packages. Our coming 
along the route was like the arrival of a circus. All the 
people turned out to examine the machine and talk 
to the passengers. The Cambodians dress like the 
Siamese. The women wear their hair cut short, their 
teeth colored black. It is hard for me to tell the men 



Through Old Eyes i77 

from the women. This hotel kept by a Chinese is most 
primitive, not clean like the Japanese inns, dirty 
tablecloth, and dirty towel for a napkin, but at least I 
have a clean, new mosquito net and my room has a 
balcony. The village is beautifully situated on a tidal 
river, and there is nearly always a pleasant breeze 
from the sea. After lunch I started out for a walk. I 
saw the fishing boats come in laden with fish. Then 
I visited the market after which I watched the natives 
building a bridge. The French gentleman in charge 
of this work invited me into his house, which was very 
near, all the French residences are on the water front. 
Late in the afternoon, I went to call on the Resident. 
He was absent, but his servant at the Residence told 
me to call on his "chancelier" and guided me to the 
bungalow. There I found a beautiful little girl swing- 
ing in the garden, I went up to the swing and said 
it was a very familiar object in my home. The young 
man, M. Lalaurette, was very courteous. He was, 
in fact, the "chancelier" I was seeking. He fills the 
place of the Resident in his absence. When he 
heard I wanted to see the caves, he offered to send the 
trap of the Resident to carry me there, which he did 
this morning. The driver brought also a note from 
him inviting me in Madame Lalaurette' s name to lunch 
to-day. I had a pleasant drive to the caves in the cool 
of the morning, but they are of little importance, as I 
said. On my return I mended my dress and went to 
the lunch. I had brought scarcely any luggage as I 
expected to see no society, merely the caves, and then 
return, for I knew the Chinese inn would not tempt me 
to stay. I had not seen Madame Lalaurette until to- 
day. She is very handsome and the little girl is a beauty. 
The lunch was deliciously dainty, with different kinds of 



178 The Old World 

wine. I took the photographs of my children to show 
to the Httle girl. The parents were much interested in 
them also. I had a truly delightful visit, but I do not 
know whether I have done right in accepting their 
invitation to leave this hotel and go to them this after- 
noon. They were really very pressing in their invita- 
tion which I refused repeatedly because I don't know 
how I can ever repay them for their generous kindness, 
and it is embarrassing to accept so many favors. 

I have not told you that at the palace in Pnom-Penh 
I was told that on the nth of April there will be the 
great festival of the Cambodian New Year, at which 
time the king would order his ballet to dance in a 
pavilion built for the purpose. Now, the king's ballet 
is celebrated, and I think I had better stay and see it 
for I shall always repent it if I do not. 

March 27, 1913. 

I came to the Lalaurettes' late yesterday afternoon 
and they took me for a sail on the river. The tide was 
unprecedentedly high so that many streets of the village 
were submerged. M. Lalaurette said he had never seen 
it so high in all the years of his residence here. He told 
me this morning that he was born in the Island of Marti- 
nique and lost many members of his family in the dread- 
ful eruption of 1902. He was then seventeen years of 
age and by chance happened to be at a country place 
belonging to his father. I was asking him last night 
about the want of sympathy of the natives for each 
other when they meet with accidents, more especially 
of the Annamites and the Chinese from the southern 
provinces. He told me that when they are condemned 
to death they laugh, that when they are being executed 
they laugh likewise, that with them laughter does not 



Through Old Eyes 179 

mean the same thing as with the white race. He said 
also a well-bred Chinaman never shows anger. It 
would be in the highest degree plebeian and unworthy of 
his rank. He informed me that 30% of the criminals 
among the Annamites were Christian converts. When 
one considers what a small percentage of the population 
the Christians are, this is startling. He says when 
they abandon their ancestor worship, which imposes a 
strong moral restraint upon their actions, they lose 
their moral balance and become utterly untrustworthy. 
The form of Christianity here is Catholic, of course. I 
am very happy in this cultivated and charming family. 
The little girl is angelic in appearance and behavior. 
We paid a visit this morning to the wife of the gentle- 
man who invited me into his house the day of my arrival, 
and afterwards, at my request, we went to the market. 
I bought a big pomolo, also some inferior papayas, not 
like the superb specimens in the Philippines, and some 
strange fruit I wanted to taste. Madame protested 
strongly against these insignificant purchases, but the 
dear child was amused. She is just four years old. 
Madame said the natives charged me treble prices 
but what I spent was insignificant. 

Yesterday morning, while driving to the cave, I was 
greeted by a broadly grinning native. It was he of the 
bright penoong and white jacket whom I had permitted 
to sit at my feet in the motor. His smiles were so 
friendly that I was pleased. Passing the hotel on my 
way to the market, I was again greeted by friendly grins. 
It was the Chinaman who had served me in that dirty 
dining-room on the ground floor. I had paid him well 
for abominable fare: greasy onion soup, fish (broiled 
on the coals) too dry to swallow, potatoes, with 
infinitesimal bananas for dessert. 



i8o The Old World 

Everybody tells me here that all the work is done 
by Chinese or Annamites. The Cambodians refuse to 
work for others. They love to fish in the great lake, 
and the soil yields bananas and grain. They have rice 
fields which they cultivate for themselves but not for 
sale. None of these people, except the Chinese, is ca- 
pable of continued effort. Monsieur C. said the French 
have to be very indulgent to their native soldiers, 
for if they are subjected to rigorous discipline they age 
quickly and lose what vigor they had before. When one 
considers how happily these people can live with but 
little labor, why should Europeans try to introduce the 
unremitting toil of their working classes among them. 
M. Lalaurette confirms all that Monsieur C. told me. 
He has more general culture than Monsieur C. and it is 
a great pleasure to talk to him. 

Friday, March 28, 1913. 

I had engaged my place in the automobile for to- 
morrow to return to Pnom-Penh, but Monsieur and 
Madame Lalaurette have persuaded me to stay three 
days longer. I want to stay and yet I dread to wear 
out my welcome. We were invited out last night to 
play auction bridge. 

Kampot, Cambodia, 
April 5, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I am still here with the Lalaurette family. I was to 
have gone last Wednesday, but Madame Lalaurette 
was again so pressing that I agreed to stay until to- 
morrow, Sunday, on condition that nobody should press 
me to stay longer but permit me to depart in peace. I 
shall have been here eleven days. It has been extremely 



Through Old Eyes i8i 

pleasant for me, for when I decided to wait for the 
Cambodian New Year, which it seems will not be until 
the 13th of this month, I dreaded the long stay at 
that hotel at Pnom-Penh. I do not feel pressed for 
time, as I have the whole summer for Java, but I am 
longing to hear from home, and my mail is waiting 
for me in Bangkok. 

Kampot is a very pleasant place, with a breeze from 
the sea and the tide which comes up to the town. 
Along this river are the houses of the French inhabi- 
tants. The house of the French Resident is very hand- 
some.' We were invited there to a very elegant lunch 
a few days ago. His wife, Madame Poiret, is young, 
handsome, and very aristocratic in appearance. She 
has her first child, a boy of scarcely two months. I 
have got acquainted with all the French Residents, and 
we visit late in the afternoon very informally. I have 
told them all good-bye with many good wishes and 
compliments so often that I am ashamed to recommence 
it to-day. Monsieur Poiret and his wife are to dine here 
to-night, together with the French doctor and his old 
mother. The latter is three years younger than I am 
but stoops so badly it makes her appear older. 

I am ashamed to confess that I brought no dresses 
except my old traveling dress and a dressing-gown. I 
was far from expecting to be entertained in this 
charming manner. Monsieur Lalaurette is one of 
the brightest and most agreeable men I have ever 
met, so broad minded and cultivated. He lost his 
mother, grandmother, a brother, and some other re- 
latives in the dreadful eruption in Martinique. He 
has still a younger brother and a sister. His father 
is also living in Martinique, a broken man since that 
terrible time. 



182 The Old World 

This colony is going through a period of terror 
owing to bombs being found and incendiary placards 
posted in Saigon and in Pnom-Penh. In Saigon four 
bombs were discovered on one day, and the police tear 
down posters exhorting the people to poison and 
assassinate the French, or kill them in any other way 
most convenient — not very pleasant reading these hot 
days. If I can judge by M. Lalaurette, the officials here 
are worked very hard. He works nine or ten hours a 
day and rarely has time to accompany us anywhere. 
He tries to find a little time to read a few pages of 
English with me daily. He understands it wonderfully 
well, appreciates its humor and wit, but he cannot speak 
it fluently. I tell the little girl the French stories I 
used to tell Mary. She is only four, very intelligent 
and beautiful. Madame Lalaurette promised to have 
some Annamite dishes prepared for me to-day. She 
described to me a famous Annamite sauce prepared in 
this way : In a barrel are placed alternate layers of fish 
and salt; when full this is placed in the tropical sun 
where it remains until the fish is entirely decom- 
posed. Then the liquor is drawn off as clear as white 
wine. This sauce is used on nearly all Annamite food. 
Madame Lalaurette says it is delicious. Her table is 
so good that I am inclined to eat too much. Then 
there are quantities of fruit now, bananas, papayas, 
and grapefruit. The grapefruit is prepared as a salad 
with mayonnaise. M. Lalaurette is so conservative that 
he will not eat this salad. He also turns up his nose at 
the Annamite fish sauce. The other day during a walk 
we saw in a Malay village some natives pounding rice. 
I said: "This is surely natural rice, unpolished. I 
advise you to buy some." Madame L. immediately 
purchased all we could bring home. Monsieur L. had 



Through Old Eyes 183 

a laugh at our expense. It was rice the Malays had 
boiled and then after drying it they were pounding it to 
put aside for what we should call a rainy day. 

When I get to Saigon, I hope to find something 
suitable to send to this dear family. I have been 
treated with so much cordiality and that without any 
letter of introduction or my intimating in any way that 
I was other than what I am, a simple tourist of modest 
means. Little Simone needs books and I hope I can 
find some good ones for her. Monsieur L. loves to read 
English books. I shall send him some from Singapore. 

It appears that it is not the Cambodians who are 
dissatisfied at this moment with French domination, but 
the Annamites, who occupy all the east coast of this 
peninsula. The Cambodians demanded the French pro- 
tectorate, as their neighbors were too strong for them. 
They are not numerous and cannot be relied on to do 
much work. They love to fish in their waters which 
supply them in lavish abundance. One has only to 
look down from the bridge into this river to see the fish 
in great numbers. 

Pnom-Penh, 
April 6, 1913. 

I did not get here until nearly three o'clock this after- 
noon. The automobile took in a town off the route for 
which I had to pay extra and spend eight hours on the 
road. After a bath and tea, I seized on the newspapers, 
all pretty old, and now it is half-past seven, but I am 
not hungry. The Lalaurettes dined very late, which I 
like. Yesterday they gave me a real Annamite lunch, 
rice with a meat gravy and the famous sauce and vari- 
ous other native dishes, among them a great delicacy 
consisting of the sprouts from beans gathered when they 



1 84 The Old World 

have just pierced the earth so that they are white 
like salad. I liked everything; most of it was slightly 
flavored with garlic. I think I should have liked 
the famous fish sauce but Monsieur prejudiced me 
against it. 

P. S. A French gentleman who lunched with us 
yesterday told me about Cambodian funerals. I asked 
him about them for I had never seen one. He gave a 
very animated account of those he had attended in high 
Cambodian circles. The master of ceremonies hires 
the mourners and gives them directions when to raise 
and when to lower their voices during their demonstra- 
tions. He will cry out: "Now I am going to uncover 
the body. Weep with violence! Utter loud lamen- 
tations!" And the band of hired weepers shriek and 
howl and beat their breasts. The master of ceremonies 
is like the chef of an orchestra which he governs by voice 
instead of by wand. All the parties, apparently, hon- 
estly endeavor to earn their pay. I said it reminded me 
of the claque in the Paris theaters. The gentleman 
said he thought the claque had been abolished, but I am 
sure it has not, and what is more I do not think it a 
bad idea, for it encourages the actors and points out the 
finest passages to the audience. 

We had a delightful dinner party last night. Ma- 
dame Poiret, the wife of the Resident, has much grace 
and ease of manner and dresses m perfect French taste. 
Her toilets are all made in France. Madame Lalau- 
rette is extremely pretty too. She is quiet and serious, 
very sincere, and I became very much attached to her, 
indeed to the whole family. When I parted from them 
this morning, they invited me to come again so cordi- 
ally it touched my heart. I was delighted on reading 
the colonial papers here this afternoon to see that the 



Through Old Eyes 185 

bombs were not dangerous ones, more intended to 
frighten than to cause injury. These Annamites have 
been greatly wounded in their feelings by the conduct 
of some of the French authorities in Hue, capital of An- 
nam, not long ago. Believing a rumor to the effect that 
there had been buried in the ancient tomb of the kings 
considerable treasure, excavations were undertaken to 
find this supposed wealth for the government. Now the 
Annamite religion is a pure ancestor worship, and this 
desecration of the tomb of an ancestor of the young 
king of Annam hurt him terribly and his people sym- 
pathize with him. He wept bitterly on visiting the 
excavations and reproached his ministers so severely 
that they wept also, but he forced them to resign. The 
British almost lost India by violating religious pre- 
judices in 1857. The French should take warning, and 
I trust the agitation against them will open their eyes 
to the dangers they are incurring. 

Apropos of the Cambodian funerals, the French 
gentleman told me that the members of a family 
who have lost their nearest and dearest ones always 
laugh before strangers or when they think themselves 
observed, but if one watches them closely they will 
be seen to go aside and indulge in real grief. Their 
laughter is only a mask required by good manners. 

Pnom-Penh, Cambodia, 

April 14, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

Monday I got off some inadequate presents for the 
Lalaurette family, I enclose Madame's charming 
letter acknowledging them. Having time on my 
hands here, I visited the government school for native 
boys and that of the French friars. Both told me 



1 86 The Old World 

that the religion of the Cambodians was a very serious 
handicap to them and was causing them to be thrust 
aside in economical competition with Chinese and 
Annamites. These latter have the ancestor worship 
of the Chinese, and both races appreciate fulty the 
advantages the schools give, especially in teaching a 
knowledge of French. The Cambodians, like the 
Siamese, are devoted Buddhists. They put their sons 
in the hands of bonzes at an early age, where they 
remain for several years. They are taught very little 
and are grounded in the crude notions of science which 
existed many centuries ago, for Buddha preceded Christ 
some five hundred years. The morality taught is said 
to be very good, but the boys leave the monastery school 
at the age of fourteen or fifteen with their intellects 
atrophied, and with fixed habits of indolence and reverie. 
They then go to the government school to learn French 
mostly, but find themselves so inferior to the Annamite 
and Chinese boys of nine or ten that they grow discour- 
aged and give up the struggle. This is the testimony 
of both the friars and the French professors. The admin- 
istration, with a view to remedy somewhat this state 
of things, has sought and is still seeking to introduce 
into the schools of the bonzes books containing elemen- 
tary notions of science, history, and geography but the 
bonzes are raising obstacles to this. They incited the 
natives, fathers and mothers of the pupils, to a revolt in 
an important town on the Mekong River. They say the 
government is trying to undermine the Buddhist reli- 
gion, which as taught by them explains eclipses as being 
caused by the. swallowing of the moon or the sun by 
some fabulous monster which is chased away by their 
incantations. They are thus able to render themselves 
extremely useful. The bonzes do not work, and go out 



Through Old Eyes 187 

once a day to beg their subsistence from rich and poor 
alike. One can see them with their bowls taking rice, 
fish, or bananas from the poorest peasants. They lead 
lives of poverty not acquiring riches and, I understand, 
give no occasion to scandals. But they are very num- 
erous, for the Cambodians love this life of repose for 
mind and body. Meanwhile the Annamites and the 
Chinese occupy all the paying positions, and the Cam- 
bodians as a race are retrograding both in numbers and 
importance. The affair of the violation of the tombs is 
still discussed in the papers, and the disorders it has 
provoked cause double work to French functionaries. 
I have found out, however, that the great outcry 
raised against the French Governor-General is not 
entirely due to his authorizing the desecration of the 
royal tombs at Hue in search of buried treasure, which 
is in itself sufficiently reprehensible, but he came to 
this colony bringing ideas of egalite et fraternite to the 
natives. I find that the French here, like the English 
in India, will not admit for an instant such doctrines. 
They say with absolute conviction that the native must 
be kept in his place, that blows suit his state of men- 
tality better than any reasoning about the rights of man, 
and the man who gives these blows is the man they 
respect, not the indulgent and considerate master or 
employer. A lady near me at table is very eloquent on 
this subject, also one of my acquaintances at Kampot; 
both tell of ungrateful and thieving servants. Mon- 
sieur and Madame Lalaurette treat their servants with 
great kindness and were never robbed. They com- 
plained, however, that every cook in the colony knew 
the exact income of his employer and regulated the 
percentage he took on his purchases accordingly. 
Madame compared from time to time what her neigh- 



i88 The Old World 

bors paid (each lady keeps her accounts), and what 
she was charged, and those whose salaries were inferior 
to that of M. Lalaurette paid less. The Resident paid 
most of all to his cook. As soon as there was a promo- 
tion, the cook was the first to have intelligence of it and 
expenses increased accordingly. There is no way of 
avoiding this, and the philosophical simply submit to it. 
The Lalaurettes paid their cook ten dollars in gold, he 
being supposed to furnish his own food, for they do not 
care for European cooking. I imagine they eat all 
the chicken and meat that is left over. Indeed, Ma- 
dame told me she did not in this hot climate try to 
keep things over-night. As so many more servants are 
required in the Orient than at home, the final cost may 
be said to be the same as in our country. The Lalau- 
rettes, in addition to their three servants, employ two 
prisoners, one of whom seemed as efficient as their 
"boy." The French employ the word "boy" for a 
house servant who waits in the dining-room. They 
have abandoned the use of gargon for the English 
word pronounced a little oddly. The French professor 
spoke with respect of Buddhism, saying it was a moral 
religion, but the friars denounce the religion of all the 
natives as being purely an effort to propitiate demons 
and genii. They repeated several times with conviction 
that these religions were founded entirely on fear, as 
though fear were not an element in our religion. In 
both schools I was told that the boys smoke very young, 
from three and four years of age. One of the friars 
told me he had seen children smoking before they were 
weaned. He said he did not believe it interfered with 
their health, but the fact remains that old age comes 
very early here. I asked the priests if they taught 
Catholicism to the native pupils. They said " no," the 



Through Old Eyes 189 

parents would not send the boys if Christianity were 
taught them. I think this shows a very laudable 
liberality, for the boys certainly need teaching and 
couldn't get it otherwise. The professor said the 
friars were only intent on making money. I think 
the competition between the two systems of education 
salutary to both. The friars seem extremely zealous 
to give good instruction, especially in French and 
in arithmetic. The government schools wish to em- 
phasize elementary ideas of science. In the French 
paper I read there is an article every day about a village 
school teacher and his wife in Auvergne in France. He 
tried to employ the manual of history that the Depart- 
ment of Education furnished, but this manual had been 
placed on the "index" by the Pope, and the village cur- 
ate ordered the pupils to refuse it saying it taught that 
our ancestors lived in caverns and were rude barbarians, 
savages in fact, which was contrary to the account 
given in Genesis of the creation of Adam and Eve. The 
school teacher represented that he was not able to reject 
a book imposed on him by his superiors. In conse- 
quence of the feeling among the villagers and the 
incitement of the curate, an attempt was made to 
assassinate the teacher and his wife, who assisted her 
husband in the school. The attempt failed. Then 
they received a letter signed by the little girl they had 
just lost telling them where their conduct would lead 
them and how it distressed their child in Heaven. 
The attempt to assassinate was made last November, 
but justice was so powerless against the unanimity of 
the populace that no action was taken by the court till 
pressure from Paris was brought to bear on it. I had 
more than one argument with M. Lalaurette on this 
subject. He says the government has no right to 



190 . The Old World 

force a book on parents which, according to their beHef , 
will carry their children to eternal damnation, since 
the Holy Father has placed it on the "index. " I think 
the first duty of the state is to watch over the healthy 
development of the minds and bodies of children. I do 
not carry this doctrine to any extreme extent, however, 
as much must be allowed to individual liberty. Still 
I hold as an article of faith that the state shoiild watch 
over the young and protect them as much as possible 
from ignorance and vice. It is a very difficult situation 
in Auvergne, but I think the authority of the state 
shoiild be maintained. It is very likely that the male 
portion of the population has been terrorized by the 
curate and the women. The hotel keeper there told one 
of the teachers that she must not expect to stay in his 
hotel, as he could not draw on himself the hostility of the 
curate. The only defense the state has is in education, 
and when one sees what ignorance has brought Spain 
and Mexico to, one must sympathize with the French 
government in its campaign of enlightenment. The 
Catholics in this colony gain no little influence by their 
fete days which are highly appreciated by the natives 
who call Christmas the Catholic 14th of July. While 
I was having such a delightful time in Kampot the king 
gave a very grand Cambodian dance in honor of the 
marriage of the chief Resident, M. Outrey. When I 
heard this I was certainly discouraged, for I have been 
staying in this country long over the time allotted in 
order to see these celebrated dances. I was told, how- 
ever, that on the 13th, yesterday, would fall the Cam- 
bodian New Year and most probably the dances would 
be repeated on such an occasion. They were indeed 
appointed for the lOth and nth but a violent rain oc- 
curred on both days. Had it been given in the Palace, 



Through Old Eyes 191 

it woiild not have mattered, but a pavilion had been 
flimsily constructed in the park near this hotel and it 
was inundated each evening. However, Saturday- 
was a clear day throughout, and late that afternoon I 
found the pavilion ready for the dances so I went at 
eight, but they did not begin until ten. All around the 
pavilion was stationed a compact mass of native spec- 
tators, while inside in a circle were seated on mats 
numbers of native women and children. Among the 
women were some dozen, perhaps, who had formerly 
belonged to the ballet of his majesty. These wore a 
scarf of colored silk to distingmsh them. They were 
dressed in the usual penoong, barelegged and bare- 
footed. When I entered the pavilion, I noticed a white 
boy of perhaps seven striking with a stick as hard as he 
could right and left among the mass of native boys who 
did not dare to retaliate. He had no doubt heard it 
preached that only by blows could the natives be kept 
in their places. I was about to interfere when the boy, 
tired perhaps by the violence of his exertions, left off and 
went out. Seats- had been provided for the Europeans, 
and I amused myself watching the crowd. Near me 
were some native women with children of mixed blood. 
These children took the chairs provided for Europeans, 
but the mothers mostly stood behind them. I only 
saw one such woman seated who held a pretty little half- 
breed girl on her lap. All these evidently enjoyed a 
rank superior to the other natives. The children wore 
shoes and stockings, a very distinctive mark, and 
foreign clothing. The little natives were mostly naked 
or nearly so. It was after ten when the king arrived 
with quite a suite of ministers and attendants. Hand- 
some upholstered chairs were arranged in a row in front. 
The king took his place in one after saluting the foreign 



192 The Old World 

visitors shaking hands with each of us. He wore 
several conspicuous orders pinned on his white Hnen 
coat, the sleeves of which were trimmed with gold lace. 
His ministers took seats behind us. A table was placed 
near his Majesty covered with a gaudily embroidered 
velvet cover on which stood a carafe of incrusted metal, 
very handsome, then a singular looking idol in metal 
which must have contained something, also a very pecu- 
liar wide-brimmed vessel which I asked to know the use 
of and was told that its usage did not bear being talked 
about in mixed company. Soon after the king's arrival 
we heard the Marseillaise. We all stood up as we had 
done for the king, and the chief Resident entered with 
his beautiful wife. He was divorced from his first wife. 
He had married this fascinating creature, an actress, 
and the Cambodian f^te had been given them while I 
was in Kampot. If I had a handsome dress, I should 
call on reception day at the Residence. It is my place 
to pay the first call, but in case I did so I should find 
myself in a salon full of exquisitely dressed ladies, and 
that would be embarrassing. The chief Resident and 
his wife took places by the side of the king. Madame 
Outrey was kind enough to arrange her seat so as not to 
obstruct my view of the dances and said something 
to me to that effect. She was dressed in exquisite 
taste. The dances were a disappointment to me 
because they were not performed by the king's regular 
troupe but by young people who are being trained for 
them. The toilets were in most cases not very hand- 
some; only two were really handsome costumes. Of 
course, I could get a pretty good idea of the dances from 
them, but I think I missed a good deal in being absent 
on the special occasion when his Majesty did his utmost 
in honor of the French bride. The king gave a good 



Through Old Eyes 193 

deal of money to the performers and to the dames in the 
silk scarfs, his former dancing girls, who went in twos 
and threes to kneel before him with supplicating hands. 
His Majesty laughs all the time, has a big, good- 
natured mouth. I have heard it is the custom in the 
royal family to marry sisters, as any other wife would 
be inferior to the sacred person of the king. I have 
inquired about this but no one has been able to inform 
me correctly. I shall have to go to the friars, I sup- 
pose, to get this information. I had a second letter 
from Madame Lalaurette to-day. I shall enclose both, 
as she writes so charmingly. She is more like home 
folks in her ideas and manners than like a for- 
eigner. There is no kind of coquetry about her although 
she is so pretty. She makes all her own dresses, and 
makes them well too but, of course, they have not 
exactly the same "cachet" as those of Madame Poiret, 
which come from France. Madame Poiret came to 
Pnom-Penh last Monday and called on me next day. 
She is extremely pretty and dresses in exquisite taste, 
which makes her quite fascinating. Madame Lalau- 
rette's postcript refers to a jest of mine which she 
apparently took seriously. We had discussed the ad- 
vantages and disadvantages of being a woman. In 
writing to her I said I had forgotten the most impor- 
tant argument in favor of being a woman which was 
that were I a man I should be dominated by some 
woman whereas I was free because I was a woman. 

April 16, 1913. 

Yesterday afternoon I went to the palace to see the 

boxers of his Majesty. Seats were arranged in the great 

pavilion with its enormous roof under which all the 

breezes entered. Four flights of steps ascend to this 

13 



194 The Old World 

pavilion and I had my seat just behind the king, the 
French Resident, and his wife. When the boxers ran 
out two at a time from opposite ranks and began to 
spring and dance around each other, I Httle thought of 
the danger of the sport, I was so full of admiration for 
their lightness and grace, but after these preliminaries, 
never did I conceive of such volleys of blows given and 
received both with fists and feet, their heads vibrating 
like reeds under the whirlwind of blows. When one 
was thrown, I noticed, without taking in its sinister 
significance, that the umpires would go and tap him on 
the head as an inquiry as to whether the brain was 
still performing its functions, and seeing them spring 
up again and again to kowtow to the king at the head 
of the wide flight of steps, I began to think that those 
boxers were not made of the vulnerable stuff of our white 
humanity. I learned, however, that my imperfect 
vision prevented my seeing the wounds on their tawny 
skins and their eyes mashed inwards. When two and 
two they came up to receive the few dollars from the 
king or Resident, one of his Majesty's ministers sitting 
near me asked if I did not notice the wounds of the men 
and added: " It is a very dangerous sport, and they often 
die from it." At last one of the men who was tapped 
on the head could make no response and coolies were 
called to carry him off, his head hanging helpless to one 
side. The wife of the Resident got up saying she could 
stand it no longer and went off with her husband. All 
the ladies followed till I was left alone among the men. 
The king laughed always and gave the two or three 
dollars to the men who were able to mount the steps, 
and really they nearly all did so in their eagerness to get 
the money. The crowd was massed in a great circle 
around the court, the trees and high scaffolding were 



Through Old Eyes 195 

packed with human beings, who yelled their applause 
as the young athletes kicked and hammered and 
gouged each other as though possessed with the demons 
of rage and hatred. When I got back, for the first 
time I realized the whole brutality of the scene, for my 
imagination is stronger than my vision and I could 
hardly sleep that night for thinking of all that mangled 
humanity groaning the night away. Such sports 
should be prohibited, but perhaps they are left to take 
the place of excitements more dangerous to the govern- 
ment. The official reception has been put off till to- 
morrow when I leave, so I shall not see that. 1 met 
yesterday the French professor at the "Box," as the 
French call it. He said if I came to his classroom to- 
day at four o'clock he would tell me all he could of 
the customs and institutions here. He is very intelligent 
and having only Cambodian and other native races in 
his class, he has peculiar opportunities for informing 
himself. He has advanced students and some of them 
are kin to the king. There is still controversy in the 
papers as to who was responsible for the violation of the 
tombs at Hue, nor has the agitation caused by it among 
the Annamites subsided. It was a criminal act in every 
sense, as the inviolability of the tombs is guaranteed in 
the French treaty with Annam. Dean Worcester told 
me that the secret of his influence over the wild tribes 
was that he kept faith scrupulously, nor ever put any 
measure into execution concerning them without discuss- 
ing it with them thoroughly beforehand. What an error 
the French have committed, and for buried treasure, a 
motive which none can be proud to acknowledge. 

Wednesday night. 

I had a pleasant talk with the professor tmder the 



196 The Old World 

trees in the school garden. He told me the king, 
according to custom, could only marry his own sister; 
that when there were not enough brothers to furnish 
husbands for all the sisters, some of the latter remained 
unmarried for this custom also prevails among the 
princes of the blood. The French have had a hard 
task to take from the king his power to inflict death 
without trial. They say he still does this within the 
palace walls, but customs are slowly ameliorating. 
Another great difficulty which the French encounter is 
to prevent torture of the accused persons by the native 
governors. I had to ask the professor not to tell me the 
horrors which he had heard from a French lawyer 
about this abuse, which in the interior is very difficult 
to prevent. The Buddhists are divided into sects, the 
differences being mainly in the asceticism practiced. 
In speaking of France, the professor said there was a 
great reaction going on in that country. The Catholic 
Church is violently hostile to the government. It has 
allied itself with all the reactionaries who are urging 
the three years' term of military service, and trying to 
push the country into a war with Germany believing 
that such a war would be successful and that it would 
lead to a dictatorship. I cannot believe in a war with 
Germany, because that country would have too much 
to lose in such a conflict, with Russia aiding France. 
But if these warlike preparations are carried too far, 
the people may prefer war as a solution of the question. 
I shall now close with oceans of love to all. 

Bangkok, Siam, 
April 24, 1913. 

Dearest Family: 
On the ship coming from Saigon were a French 



Through Old Eyes 197 

gentleman and his wife who had been in a hospital 
in Saigon and were returning to their plantation home. 
When we reached their landing, they were met by the 
most tragic news. They had left two young French- 
men on the place who came out last year gay and full 
of life. While in the hospital letters were received 
from them reporting that all was going on well on the 
plantation. Both young men were dead, one buried, 
the other just dead. They had perished miserably 
of lockjaw. No doctor within reach. One had begun 
a letter to his mother which was not finished. A year 
ago another employee of this planter was assassinated. 
When I saw the gentleman writing telegrams to the 
families of these two young men in France, I was deeply 
moved. The captain went ashore to see if there were 
any evidence of foul play. He came back saying they 
seemed to have died from natural causes. I feel very 
skeptical about that. The coincidence of their both 
having lockjaw with identical symptoms seems to me to 
indicate poison. 

I found a warm welcome awaiting me here. Yester- 
day the American Minister took us to the palace com- 
pound to see the royal temples and pagodas. I don't 
know how much time the king spends in this particular 
palace, very little I fancy. On entering the enclosure, 
one is struck by the rows of beautiful trees, the branches 
cut in fiat surfaces one above the other, an airy form of 
tree architecture. As the trees are in great numbers, 
the effect is quite picturesque, but attention is at once 
diverted to the wonderful display of coloring. The 
roofs of all the buildings, palaces, temples, barracks, 
and cloisters, the latter formed by the encircling walls, 
are of different shades of green and ruddy brown. Then 
the pagodas with their tall shafts pointing heavenward 



198 The Old World 

are of gold and blue and gray porcelain encrusted with 
scintillating stones. Such a chaotic assemblage of 
colors with wonderful monsters guarding portals and 
elephants on pedestals and life-size statues of cows 
and grotesque images of lions, half-human, half-beast 
and enormous birds all guarding something, I never 
saw anywhere else in my life. It made a wonderful 
ensemble. The cloister walls were gaily frescoed, airy 
little pavilions nestled mid blossoming shrubs, the 
pillars of the temples are encrusted with colored stones, 
everywhere such a riot of color and form that one did 
not know where to look for fear of losing something. I 
take a -deep interest in this young king of Siam, almost 
the only Oriental ruler who has preserved his independ- 
ence. He wants to break with the past in the matter of 
marrying his sister, but the queen dowager is resolutely 
bent on it, I hear. No one else has a right to be queen 
in Siam. But the young king has traveled in Europe and 
revolts against this custom. His mother, however, has 
much influence, and with the sanction of immemorial 
usage and popular prejudice behind her will no doubt 
prevail. He is said to wish to marry a Japanese prin- 
cess. I can see quite a difference between the Siamese 
and the inhabitants of Indo-China. The latter are no 
longer free. The Siamese are gentle and soft mannered, 
but they are firm when the foreigner demands more than 
they are willing to concede. Yesterday in the temple, 
I was anxious to enter a part where service was 
going on, but the young Siamese acting as my guide 
laid a firm hand on my arm and would not permit it. 
In Cambodia I went into every part of the temple 
among the worshipers. The soldiers I saw drilling 
here have a manly bearing and hold their heads high 
with a proud look, the look of free men not afraid of the 



Through Old Eyes 199 

white race. When I was in India in 1897, I was always 
shocked at the haughty bearing of the English toward 
the natives, and while the French in Indo-China have 
more suavity of manner and more politeness, still there 
is always a show of conscious superiority. How dif- 
ferent is the attitude of the Americans working among 
the Filipinos. Their whole effort seems directed to 
helping, teaching, elevating those backward people 
without a thought of exploiting or dominating them. 
We are giving the old world a lesson in the art of con- 
ducting colonies, and if we continue the good work as it 
is now being carried on and those islands are kept out of 
home politics, we shall astonish the world more by our 
achievements over there than by digging the great canal. 

On Board Ship Delhi for Singapore, 

May 2, 1913. 

Dear Family: 

Before leaving Bangkok, Mrs. Irwin wrote to the 
Siamese princess, principal of the school for the children 
of Siamese nobles, to say how much I regretted not being 
able to attend the closing exercises of her college and 
that I wished to call upon her before I left for Singapore. 
We received a prompt and cordial invitation to call on 
Saturday afternoon . We were entertained in the garden 
on the green grass under leafy trees. Various refresh- 
ments were offered : iced drinks, luscious mangoes peeled 
and cut ready to be eaten, glutinous rice served with the 
thick milk of fresh cocoanuts and a syrup. I believe 
the mangoes here are the best in the world. At the 
end, tea and cakes were served. In this garden was 
the open-air theater for calisthenic exercises as well as 
for theatricals. The princess had the various cur- 
tains lowered for me to see. They had been painted 



200 The Old World 

by the older pupils and were extremely decorative. 
During our conversation I said I was sorry not to have 
tasted the "durian, " as I understood it was not yet 
perfectly ripe. She said it was and that she had been 
sending it to the bonzes and would send me some. In 
Kampot, a small durian had been offered me for fifty 
cents gold. It was not a perfect specimen so I refused 
it. M. Lalaurette bought it twice for me but it was not 
good on either occasion. The next afternoon, while 
Mrs. Irwin and I were out walking, a "boy" came from 
the princess with a tray loaded with gifts. There was 
the famous durian peeled and ready to be eaten, quanti- 
ties of the most delicious mangoes, glutinous rice, syrup, 
and thick cocoanut milk. When we returned from our 
walk, we found the house deserted, Medora only linger- 
ing at the front gate. The durian had possession and 
though the offensive odor is said to reside only in the 
peeling, there was enough of it left to be all-pervading. 
Medora had tried to force Mr. M. to eat some, but he 
had taken to flight. Her father had fled likewise. Mr. 
R. had not yet returned. I was thirsty and hungry, 
in ideal condition to sample a new fruit, so we began on 
the durian, which was certainly perfect of its kind, and 
it is the costliest fruit of the Orient. I fancied I liked it 
a little, but being extremely fond of mangoes, I gave 
it up very soon. Unfortunately the mangoes were 
impregnated with the smell and flavor of the durian, 
and so was all the food coming from the pantry that 
afternoon and evening. We sent out a goodly portion 
to the servants. Medora tried to force young Mr. R. 
to taste it, but he fought against it vigorously and 
escaped. He said he tasted it once in Singapore and 
was in bed the rest of the day with nausea. Medora 
does not like to be defeated so she consoled herself by 



Through Old Eyes 201 

forcing Mr. M . to taste of this forbidding fruit. It is very- 
popular with the natives and in time Westerners learn to 
like it, I am told. The odor is very trying. It is so per- 
sistent that one gets very sick of it. The evening before 
I left, I was invited to tea at the elegant home of Mrs. 
Hayes, and later we had a delightful drive in her motor. 

On this ship I have met a foreign employee of the 
Siamese government who has lived in Bangkok twenty- 
four years. He tells me the young king is not vSO popu- 
lar or so intelligent as his father. He says he will be 
forced to marry his half-sister, as that is the custom and 
the law of Siam, not the whole sister, as in Cambodia. 
The young king would gladly break with the past but he 
is not popular enough. There was a conspiracy in the 
army to assassinate him at his coronation, and he is now 
making every effort to increase his popularity. There- 
fore, he dare not disregard so sacred a custom as that 
relating to his marriage. This custom exists only in 
the royal family. It is held a crime in all others. The 
people have some sort of a tradition that Buddha 
married his half-sister. 

The other evening at table, Mr. M. said, in speaking 
of his firm: "We never send any money to England to 
pay for our goods. We send teak logs." I said: "In 
those words you have disclosed the secret of England's 
immense trade. She admits the products of all nations 
and countries duty free, therefore her ships sail on every 
sea and are at home in every port. " I have not seen an 
American flag since I left the Philippines. 

9 KoNiGSPLEiN, Weltevreden, Batavia, Java, 

May 14, 1913. 

Dearest Family: 
I have had no time yet to see Batavia. During the 



202 The Old World 

voyage over I sat near a German at table with whom I 
talked to freshen up my German and amuse myself. I 
tried to straighten out some of his queer ideas. He is 
employed on a large "gambier" plantation in Sumatra, 
owned by a company. I said I had never heard of 
gambler and asked to know all about it. He said "It 
grows like tea. We cut the leaves and young twigs 
about twice a year. These are boiled and the concoc- 
tion reduced to a certain degree of thickness. It is 
then shipped all over the world to silk factories where it 
is used to weaken the fiber of silk." "Weaken the 
fiber of silk!" I exclaimed. "Yes, that is what it is 
used for. You see but for gambler a lady's silk dress 
would last for a hundred years. How could the silk 
factories live at that rate. They have to use gambler in 
self-defense." Well, you may think this young man 
was joking but he was not ; he was in dead earnest. I 
told him he was engaged in a very nefarious business, 
and then for conversational purposes I explained the 
folly of such an idea, how small the supply of silk was 
in proportion to the demand of the world, the many 
substitutes and mixtures used to eke out this supply, and 
also the impossibility of uniting all manner of men in 
tricking and cheating the public. He said he had 
talked to chemists on this subject and they had assured 
him of the facts as he stated them. He was good look- 
ing and took a daily bath but could not be shaken in this 
belief. I should think it would injure his character to 
believe that he was constantly assisting in a fraud. I 
had no trouble with the customs on landing. When I 
took the train I asked for a ticket to Batavia instead of 
to Weltevreden as I should have done, so I got out in my 
ignorance some miles from the residence portion of the 
city. Seeing a string of queer little conveyances ranged 



Through Old Eyes 203 

outside the station, I took the first one. They have only- 
one broad cushion which must serve for two seats and 
the passengers sit with their backs to the driver so that 
they have only a rear view of the scenery — no partition 
across the seat. You can lean against the driver if so 
inclined but I did not do so. I had paid my luggage 
bearer liberally, according to coolie notions, which 
inclined him to linger after seating me in my vehicle. 
This proved lucky for me, for I had unwittingly secured 
a very rare animal in the tiny pony attached to the 
cart. All of these animals were tiny alike, the smallest 
I had ever seen used for draft animals, but mine, no 
doubt from hard experience, had developed a stubborn- 
ness out of all proportion to his size. When all was 
ready, he refused to budge. The coolie pushed from 
behind, the driver, on foot, tugged frantically in front, 
the bridle was strong and stood the strain. In this guise 
I was starting for one of the most fashionable hotels 
in the Orient. The coolie pushed for all he was worth, 
the driver would only stop pulling from sheer exhaustion 
and then begin to beat to which I put an instant stop. 
I began to wonder if I should ever get to the hotel or 
if I had enough change to pay the coolie for his violent 
exertions. Finally, however, the sight of his last com- 
rade leaving him behind induced him to start. The 
driver leaped into his seat and we were off. We were 
some miles from the Hotel des Indes. My steed only 
balked once more but that was on the railway track, 
and I got very uneasy during the struggle. Arrived 
at the hotel, I found it crowded so I was forced to seek 
another, the Hotel Java. It is built like a Virginia 
watering place — a magnificent dining-room and 
appurtenances all to itself and then rows and rows of 
cottages with verandas in front. I was very hungry 



204 The Old Worid 

for lunch. There were many dishes on the menu but 
I only ordered soup and "rice table." After helping 
myself to the rice, I thought the servants would never 
stop bringing all the dishes that go with it. I had seen 
rice table in India, Ceylon, and Singapore but never 
imagined the development it could attain until I 
got here. I was afraid to try experiments with my 
digestion, so I only took the gravy from a chicken stew. 
Too much chutney (a delicious and very hot sweet 
pickle always served with rice table) had disagreed with 
me in Singapore and also on the ship, but I am very 
fond of it. It is made very hot with red pepper and 
ginger. Dinner in these hotels begins at eight-thirty 
or nine. It is true you can get it at eight, but you will 
scarcely see another soul. Just as my dinner ended 
that night, the band struck up and the rooms began 
to fill with guests. It seems strange, but in this tropical 
land people eat more than I have ever seen them eat 
in colder countries, and the food too is far richer and 
heavier. Perhaps that is why I see so many fat people. 
At lunch the ladies wear loose flowing robes, mostly 
white, but in the evening at the late dinner when it is 
cooler, they wear very elegant toilets. After a few days, 
I looked up this house. I was too lonely in the hotel 
sitting at a small table all to myself, no Americans or 
French to talk to, all Dutch. I came to this delightful 
house yesterday after first going to the bank. At 
the bank of Java, the official declared he could not cash 
my checks as he did not know the New York bank 
issuing them. I went to another bank, same experience. 
I now tried to find a Cook's Agency. There was none, 
but I found an Information Bureau for travelers and 
was advised to try the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, 
the same which I thought charged me unjustly high 



Through Old Eyes 205 

all through China, but I gladly turned to them now. I 
was thoroughly alarmed. Both the banks I had visited 
advised me to get my checks endorsed by the American 
Consul. I said I should never ask that favor of any one, 
that another way must be found. However, the Hong- 
kong and Shanghai Bank was entirely satisfied with the 
papers I presented and cashed one of the checks. I 
was infinitely relieved and forgave them their past 
delinquencies. I paid my hotel bill and came here 
thirsty, hungry, and hot, to be welcomed into a cool, 
big, clean room with a cooling drink and a bath, then 
at two a nice lunch. There are only men boarders 
here, all Dutch, but Mrs. Van Rossem has a grown son 
and daughter. All three speak English well, for they 
are Boers from South Africa. They left there before 
the war and lived a while in Holland before coming 
to Batavia. The son is fine looking and plays on the 
piano wonderfully. The daughter works, has some 
position in the city. She told me she was called "chef 
de bureau" which pleased her very much till some one 
asked how many employees there were under her, when 
she had to confess there was only a native messenger 
boy. She and her brother do not come home to lunch. 
There is also a married daughter with children who 
lives in Batavia, and another, a trained nurse, now in 
Japan. I am already on cordial terms with this English- 
speaking family. I do not understand the conversation 
of the Dutch boarders. The rainy season is now drawing 
to a close. It has rained heavily nearly every day since 
I reached this house. It is very warm at times, but last 
night I had to cover with a counterpane. As usual in 
Dutch houses and hotels out here, one sheet and a white 
counterpane are furnished. I have decided preference 
for two sheets to my bed but I do not get them. This 



2o6 The Old World 

house has a large garden at the rear, full of trees and 
flowers. It looks on the famous Konigsplein, an enor- 
mous open space with avenues surrounding it. It 
contains a race track and parade grounds and around it 
are the fashionable drives and walks. The great open 
space is now green with grass, but I fancy in the dry- 
season it must be bare and dusty. Mrs. Van Rossem 
has just come from market bringing some fine papayas. 
I wish Laura could see the odd flowering shrubs and 
trees and ferns, but I shall never see any tree so glorious 
as the "flamboyant" at Bangkok; from a garden it 
throws a pink glow into a room. That place is also 
the home of the mango; the markets were full of the 
finest I have ever seen when I left. There are none 
here. I like this house very much and as soon as I 
get my letters written, I shall begin sight-seeing. The 
Consul, Mr. Rairden, who has been here twenty years, 
has a deUghtful house. He wishes me to meet his wife 
so I shall call again soon. When I went to the Consul- 
ate for my letters I got there before the family had 
breakfasted. 

From Singapore I sent M. Lalaurette some English 
books — The History of the Malay States by Swettenham. 
I added Uncle Tom's Cabin which I have never read 
myself, not from prejudice but because I know slavery 
so well myself that it is a painful subject. I take a 
very light breakfast, tea and toast at seven-thirty. 
I think the Dutch eat too much. They take little 
exercise and get very fat. 

May 20, 1913. 

Dearest Family: 

Mr. Rairden and his wife are coming to-morrow even- 
ing to carry me to a concert at one of the fashionable 



Through Old Eyes 207 

clubs. Some days ago, I went to the Consulate, 
announcing on my arrival that I had come to brag about 
the United States; that I cotild not do so before for- 
eigners because they put on such a sour look, not even 
wishing to hear about the Panama Canal as the great- 
est work ever undertaken by a nation with free labor, 
totally disposing of the theory that governments were 
more inefficient than private corporations for great 
undertakings. When I reached this point in my indict- 
ment of the attitude of foreigners towards the United 
States, Mr. Rairden said: "We can talk of that later. 
Let me present my friends to you." Whereupon 
he introduced two British sea-captains and a Dutch 
lady and I saw that it would be prudent for me to post- 
pone my bragging to a more convenient season. This 
amused the guests, yet it is perfectly true that there is 
nothing more unpalatable to foreigners than to hear 
other nations praised. The French are very polite, 
still they do not relish it. 

Mrs. Van Rossem took me driving yesterday behind 
her two ponies. Batavia is like a great park inter- 
spersed with dwellings. There is a winding river 
running through it and various canals. All have a good 
current and keep clean. The rain has made every- 
thing very fresh and green and beautiful. 

I spent this morning at the museum. I got acquainted 
with the yoiing Dutch lady employed in the library 
and she carried me to the wing of the building where 
her parents reside. They, too, have an important 
collection of objects of art of various kinds and, as 
they explained everything, it was made very interesting 
to me. The young lady is to be married soon and is so 
happy that she told me all her plans. 

Yesterday I had another charming letter from Ma- 



208 The Old World 

dame Lalaiirette. She says her husband was so inter- 
ested in The Great Illusion which I sent him from Saigon 
that she was going to read it too. As for little Simone, 
she could hardly be got to the table, so eager was she 
over the French picture books. I intended writing a 
great many letters from here, but the family life is so 
agreeable that I have allowed it to steal my time. The 
weather is charming ; the dry season is supposed to have 
begtm, but it rains very often and cools the air. Our 
summer is the dry season here and for this reason it is 
the hot season. Batavia is just south of the equator. 
Young Mr. Van Rossem plays every evening on the 
piano as soon as he comes in from his business, and the 
whole house is filled with music, the most beautiful 
music, and one can listen or not as one chooses, but I 
listen. Mrs. Van Rossem and I went this morning to 
visit the opium factory and were conducted through it 
by an enthusiastic employee who spared no pains to 
show us the entire process of manufacturing the danger- 
ous drug. The finest machinery in the factory is from 
America. I got very tired at the end of the two hours 
though I was greatly interested. Many little boys are 
employed, which made me think with a pang of ours, 
but the little fellows seemed eager to earn money and 
worked well. Last night we had a German couple to 
dinner who are engaged to be married. She came out 
alone and prefers, she says, to take her honeymoon before 
marriage. The bans have to be published which will 
force them to wait two weeks, so they are going on a 
bridal trip and then retiun to get married and settle 
down. We spoke German because the bride has not 
yet learned Dutch (she was pleased to compliment 
my German which seemed to gratify the Van Rossem 
family). We are all such good friends now that I hate 



Through Old Eyes 209 

to leave them to wander from place to place and hotel 
to hotel. 

SiNDANGLAYA, HiLL STATION IN JaVA, 

May 26, 1913. 

My DEAR Family: 

I spent two delightful hoiirs with Mr. and Mrs. 
Rairden at the open-air concert at one of the clubs. He 
tells me that the German Consul here gets $10,000 yearly 
against his $4000. It is possible he confuses thalers 
with dollars but even so the discrepancy is great. The 
Rairdens keep eight servants but no coachman, as he 
finds it cheaper to hire carriages. Mrs. Van Rossem 
keeps three horses with two vehicles, but they are a 
great care. Her coachman is so dishonest that she has 
to count every bundle of grass she buys. Indeed, she 
has to watch all her servants so closely she can scarcely 
be called free. I was promised a letter of introduction 
to a prominent personage in Djokjakarta, but I hear the 
Sultan receives no ladies and that I shall not be ad- 
mitted to the palace. On reaching Buitenzorg I went 
immediately to the botanical gardens, perhaps the most 
famous in the world. I had a boy to guide me who 
showed me the fern and orchid plantations, lotus ponds, 
brilliantly tinted water-lilies, Victoria Regia, some 
grand avenues of trees, their tall trunks covered with 
creepers, palms, bamboos, and rattans. I had to go to 
bed after all this fatigue. Next morning I returned 
to the gardens and in the nurseries asked a question of 
a gentleman who proved to be the Curator of the gar- 
dens, a very learned man. He took immediate charge 
of me and from 9 : 30 to i : 1 5, conducted me around. He 
told me many curious facts about plants, explaining to 
me how to distinguish orchids from other flowers, and 
14 



210 The Old World 

he let me try experiments on his fine orchids . He showed 
me orchids which formed excrescences on tree trunks. 
These become the home of ants which do no harm to the 
plant but protect it from other insects. He tapped on 
some of these and out swarmed the ants. On finding 
no enemy, they retired again into their dwelling. He 
showed me the vanilla creeper which is an orchid. 
When it gets a good start, it abandons its roots in the 
earth. I saw fine specimens of the fan-shaped palm. 
The entire tree is arranged in the shape of a gigantic 
fan. He told me that this is the traveler's palm, because 
a thirsty man by cutting one of the leaves close to the 
stem can obtain water. I saw also the palm from which 
Panama hats are made. The leaf is cut before it un- 
folds and so is already bleached. From this is made 
the fine and flexible plaited work. He showed me the 
curious pitcher plant and the Burbank cactus which was 
procured from California. He says Manila hemp thrives 
in these islands. We talked among other things of the 
position of the half-castes. He says they are better 
treated here than in English colonies, for a half-caste 
can rise in Java by his talents. I pleased him, I im- 
agine, by speaking of the glorious history of the Dutch 
who had broken the worst tyranny that Europe had 
ever suffered, that of Spain and the Inquisition. I said 
it could even be argued that Spain might have con- 
quered England had not the Dutch broken her power. 
He showed me how cocoanuts are propagated: not 
in the earth as one would suppose, — there they would 
be devoured by wild animals, — but hung from the trees 
imtil the sprouts are quite strong, then they are placed 
in small boxes of earth where they root. He said he had 
read everything Darwin had ever published, enjoying 
especially his Voyage on the "Beagle." We discussed 



Through Old Eyes 211 

the immortality of the soul, I saying I did not consider 
m5^self in any way worthy of immortality, but that if the 
good Lord granted it to me, I should enjoy it, perhaps, 
more than those who had always expected it. I was so 
fascinated by those gardens that I returned repeatedly. 
The great "lianes, " creepers, tying trees together, were 
so interesting. I tried to trace some of them through 
all their windings. It was amazing over what aerial 
heights they sprang, climbing higher and higher to make 
a fresh spring to some distant tree. Sometimes they 
form huge loops or swings, sometimes hang in showers 
of wavy lines. Perhaps the undergrowth that once sus- 
tained them has perished, leaving these gigantic black 
cables, some nearly a foot in diameter, stretching 
across space. I met at the hotel a charming English 
lady, wife of the Dutch Minister to Persia, who is now 
on a mission to these islands. She has lived three years 
in Teheran, and advises me not to think of going to 
Persia. She told me of startling crimes committed 
almost daily, of the wretched conditions which make 
traveling impossible. She told me of one missionary 
lady who was twice stripped and left literally naked 
on the road. Two ladies whom she knew were leaving 
Persia. When far advanced on the road their driver 
tried to blackmail them. On refusing to pay his 
exorbitant demands, he unhitched the horses and went 
off leaving them stranded. Fortunately they were 
rescued by some passing travelers. The curse of Islam 
is over that land. To the worst political corruption 
is added the fiercest religious fanaticism. The Dutch 
of Java are excited over a propaganda carried on by a 
society called "Sarekat Islam." The natives of Java 
are Mohammedans and I did not know so mild a 
form of that religion existed as theirs has been until 



212 The Old World 

very recently, when a piiritanical governor tried to 
force their children to attend Christian schools which 
provoked this wave of fanaticism. I left Buitenzorg 
yesterday morning at 6 a.m. with three horses to my 
carriage, taking on two more to bring me over the high 
pass to this place. The way was lovely, partly through 
primitive forests, impenetrable to the eye, but the great 
crowns of the trees in the background, the tree ferns 
along the road, and the poinsettias making brilliant 
splashes of color everywhere, made the drive most 
beautiful. We came through coffee and tea planta- 
tions and along the celebrated rice terraces which 
formed an ever-changing scene with mountains every- 
where in the distance. The air is very cool and bracing 
up here, and I am very comfortable, with pleasant 
people to entertain me. An old German gentleman, 
who sits on the wide veranda with us, is very talkative, 
and we get on very well together. He abuses the 
Javanese terribly, calling them thieves, but more 
especially he accuses them of ingratitude. I find the 
latter charge a very usual one from employers of labor. 
I think sometimes the employer might feel a little 
grateful for faithful service with humble wages. The 
yoimg man who manages the hotel is an Austrian, 
and I got him and the old German into a stiff quarrel 
yesterday without intending it. The young man con- 
tended that the society, Sarekat Islam, had a right 
to exist, that it was an effort to obtain more rights for 
the people, that the farming population lived in debt 
and were ground down by usury and taxes, that the 
government left them a prey to Chinese money-lenders 
who bought up their crops at low prices and resold the 
rice to them later very high, thus keeping them in 
debt ; that the government, when it lent them money, 



Through Old Eyes 213 

charged 18% for it. They had a very hot dispute 
interrupted fortunately by the dinner bell. I walked so 
much yesterday among the mountains on my way here 
that I had to lie down after lunch, but this morning I 
was up early for a ride of one and a half hours to an 
experimental station of the Buitenzorg gardens. The 
ride was delightfiil through rice terraces in all stages of 
growth and ripeness bearing heavy crops, also through 
tea plantations and marvelous forests. This station 
covers about fifty acres, but I devoted myself to the 
part containing blooming plants. The head gardener 
is a German and showed me aroimd. He gave me some 
seeds too, but I fear our climate may not suit them. I 
am now reading Dutch papers daily with the help of a 
dictionary. Otherwise I should get no news. The old 
German gentleman and the Austrian manager are both 
talking to me while I am writing on the veranda in front 
of my room (it must be 18 or 20 feet wide), which makes 
writing difficult. 

I did not mention a charming walk I took in the 
Governor's park at Buitenzorg. It contains huge 
specimens of the waringen trees, a kind of banyan. 
Their trunks are formed of a mass of stems caused 
by the branches throwing down rootlets which gives 
them a most striking and imposing appearance. There 
were a great many deer in the park. 

There is a great tree in view from this veranda in the 
garden, the trunk of which is ornamented with a mass 
of blooming orchids, most exquisite ones which fall in 
big bunches around the stem. The men have pulled 
great numbers of these flowers so that I have been able 
to try the experiment taught me by the curator of push- 
ing off the head of the pistil without injury to the orchid. 
I have very beautiful mountain views from this veranda. 



214 The Old World 

My dearest Susan Smedes and Laura are such lovers of 
flowers, but they could not stand the fatigue that I 
undergo. I was from seven till one- twenty in the 
Buitenzorg garden and the Governor's park during my 
last walk there. A gentleman of whom I asked some 
information accompanied me for some hours. I was 
admiring the giant bamboo which, planted in bunches, 
makes the most magnificent trees either for avenues or 
singly. He said this giant bamboo has a kind of husky 
sheath, near the ground, which is covered with barbed 
hairs. These the natives are said to use to poison 
people, as they set up inflammation in the intestines. 
Children have to be prevented from handling them. 

Djokjakarta, 

June 3, 1913. 

My DEAR Family: 

My flrst stop after leaving Sindanglaya was Garoot, 
where, during a drive, I lost my traveling bag. I soon 
missed it and had the driver turn back when some 
boys pointed it out to me lying in the road. None of 
the numerous passersby had touched it. I have met 
with such honesty in the humblest classes in the Orient 
that I could not help thinking of what a certain priest 
told his faithful followers. * ' The devil, ' ' he said, ' ' feels 
so sure of getting these people that he doesn't take the 
trouble to tempt them, but he is so ingenious in his 
devices to entrap the poor Christians that they often 
succumb." The day after I reached Garoot, I took 
a very strenuous excursion into the mountains with a 
young Dutch lady whom I met in the hotel. We started 
at 5 A. M. in a carriage. After two and a half hours 
we reached the foot of the steep mountain slope we were 
to ascend. Here we hired horses, but I had hardly 



Through Old Eyes 215 

mounted mine when he became so frightened by an 
automobile coming up from behind that he was abso- 
lutely frantic, and I marvel that I was not killed. I 
threw hat, bag, and all of my belongings to the winds 
clinging desperately to the horse's neck. My coolie 
clung to the bridle, but the horse plunged so violently it 
was with the utmost difficulty I could keep on his back. 
My heart almost stopped beating and I was in real 
danger from terror. The Dutch lady changed horses 
with me when the danger was over, as my horse and 
I had lost confidence in each other. I was able to go on 
though badly shaken. We toiled up the steepest slopes 
for two hours more. Often the ascent was in the form 
of steps, but we got up somehow to the foot of the sharp- 
ly rising mountain peak. After resting here and eating 
lunch we climbed to the crater of an extinct volcano. 
I have seen much grander craters but it was interesting 
nevertheless. The sulphur fumes were strong and the 
various deposits rich in coloring. Coming down was 
worse than going up, for the steps jolted horribly as the 
horse plunged down them. I was sore all over. I am 
now in Djokjakarta in a nice hotel with a delightful 
room. Everybody sits on the broad verandas and at 
night doors and windows are left open. This is the 
state of a native Sultanate. I carried a letter of intro- 
duction to the Dutch Resident, and when he asked me 
what I wanted to see I replied: "I wish to see the 
Sultan's daughters dance in fine costumes before their 
father and a choice company of his wives and off- 
spring. " The Sultan's court just now is in deep mourn- 
ing for the Crown Prince. Although the Sultan has 
sixty-five other children, still there is no material among 
them for another Crown Prince, for he must be the son 
of the Sultana, and this increases the grief of the old 



2i6 The Old World 

Sultan. In fact, the Dutch are going to claim the 
right to choose a new Crown Prince among the sons of 
the inferior wives. His oldest child is fifty-six and he 
has some children only a few months old ; more than a 
hundred have died. The Sultan is seventy -five years 
old. Yesterday I went to the palace or "Kraton" 
as it is called. My escort was a young Dutch gen- 
tleman whose acquaintance I made in the hotel. 
We exchange language lessons. He had previously 
gone with me to see the ruins of the temple of Boro- 
boodoor. The first view of these famous ruins is a 
little disappointing, not so grand as those of Angkor 
nor so beautiful, but when we reached the topmost 
terrace we could appreciate the grandeur of the 
whole. The bottom terraces are square; the three 
last are circular enclosing the top of a round hill. The 
temple which crowns it has some remarkable bas-reliefs 
and other ornamentation. Foreigners speaking Eng- 
lish use the word "nice" till it becomes absurd. After 
my Dutch friend had called the ruins "nice" and the 
mountain peaks "nice" and a story of touching heroism 
"nice," I turned upon him and told him he would 
never learn English well until he gave up the use of 
that word, because it not only could not stand the 
strain he put upon it but proclaimed his poverty of 
language. He was as sorrowful as though he had been 
told to give up his most cherished possession. After 
lunch at the inn, we went to look up another ruined 
temple of no great importance. Not feeling sure of the 
route, we called at the house of the Burghermeister for 
directions. His wife offered to show us the way, so 
with her charming little daughter and a servant, she 
joined our party. The walk to the little temple was 
lovely under cocoanut palms and tree ferns. On our 



Through Old Eyes 217 

return to her house, the little Javanese lady insisted 
on serving afternoon tea. We enjoyed our visit to her 
so much that we came near missing the train. 

At the Kraton, we saw some little daughters of the 
Sultan and of the late Crown Prince. They all wore 
golden ornaments to distinguish them from the servants' 
children who played with them, four to each little prin- 
cess. Perhaps their own fathers might not have known 
them without the golden ornaments. The Sultan is 
passionately fond of fighting cocks. He has sixty-five 
of them, each with a man to take charge of it, give it 
exercise, and prevent it from fighting at undue times. 
We saw the large reception rooms in the Kraton with 
marble floors, also a dining-room which seats one 
hundred and fifty guests. I shook hands with two of 
the Sultan's ministers so as to get a chance to inspect 
them more closely. I told them I was anxious to meet 
some Javanese ladies of rank, that up to this time I had 
met only the servant class, and asked to be permitted to 
call on their wives. This request caused something like 
consternation and was promptly refused. The Harem 
is impenetrable. As the court is in mourning, the 
royal princesses do not dance. In the afternoon, the 
Dutch Resident sent us in his motor car to a large sugar 
plantation eighteen miles in the country. Here we 
saw cane in all stages of growth while the making of 
sugar went on in the mill. They do not cultivate sugar 
cane as we do. No work animals are used, only human 
labor. The whole field is dug in parallel ditches, the 
earth piled up between. The cane is planted in the 
bottom of these ditches, and as it grows the earth is 
pulled down upon it till the whole field is level again. I 
never tasted better sugar cane; it is so sweet. The 
young gentleman and I shared all expenses and his 



2i8 The Old World 

society was quite agreeable. I was sorry when he left 
yesterday evening. Near this hotel is an exhibition of 
native arts and industries where they explained to me 
the process of making the famous batik work so prized 
by the Javanese. I bought a piece. It is made of 
cotton cloth with the patterns traced on it by hand in 
the most elaborate and troublesome manner possible, 
and after all not so pretty as that done by machinery. 
Still I gave $3.60 in gold for a small piece as a specimen. 

On Board Ship off Island of Celebes 

AT THE Port of Makassar, 
June II, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

Just before leaving Djokja, I visited the shop where 
the batik work is made for the "Kraton" or Sultan's 
palace. It is a complicated process involving much 
labor to manufacture the royal sarongs, sarongs being 
the national dress for high and low alike. They are 
three yards long, draped around the waist and tucked in 
to the belt in front. (The penoong in Siam is about 
the same length but is worn differently. It is brought 
up from behind between the knees and fastened at the 
belt in front.) The printing, or rather the painting of 
this cloth, is done by hand, the artist using a tiny kettle 
of hot dye with a spout as fine as a needle. Designs 
worn by the Sultan are not permitted to be worn by 
others. Had I seen this batik work in European 
shops, I should have passed it by without particular 
notice, but such is the contagion of example that here 
I find myself greatly interested in it. It is the slowest 
work I have yet seen and it takes some months to paint 
a well-covered sarong. They are consequently very 
costly even with this extremely cheap labor. A well- 



Through Old Eyes 219 

covered sarong costs sixteen dollars in our money and 
after all is only a piece of cotton cloth. The imported 
imitations are interfering very much with this industry 
among the general public, and this is much lamented 
by some of the conservative Javanese. It is an industry 
of women and keeps them very busy. I imagine in the 
Kraton the women talk a lot on this one theme, as 
their interests are so limited and the designs of the 
sarong indicate the rank of the wearer in many cases. 
An alarm about plague forced me to get a health certi- 
ficate at the last moment before embarking and, I was 
a good deal frightened lest the ship should leave me, for 
it sails only once a month. But I am now happily off on 
my cruise among the Spice Islands. Our first stop was 
at the Island of Bali where I wished to go ashore, but 
the launch steered for a great raft of cattle and towed 
it back to the ship where all the passengers were on deck 
and looking at us. I felt so absurd bringing in these 
great horned creatures that I hid behind an awning 
and was much relieved when this task was accomplished 
and we at length reached the shore. I took a walk there 
and returned to the ship in a native rowboat, as I dreaded 
any more such experiences. Yesterday we arrived at 
Makassar. I took a carriage to the old Kraton a few 
miles out. The native Sultan rebelled against the 
Dutch in 1907 and was killed in the uprising. Since 
then the Dutch have ruled without any pretense of a 
native king. The drive was delightful through avenues 
of tamarind trees. On each side of the road were one- 
storied houses, all with verandas, situated in the midst 
of blooming gardens. The old Kraton looked very 
ruinous.- A pretty little mosque stands near it. I soon 
had a small crowd of men and boys around me. In the 
mosque porch were religiously kept two or three sedan 



220 The Old World 

chairs which had belonged to their ' ' Koning, ' ' and a man 
was fetched whom they called "Anakoning" for me to 
see. I learned later that this meant their king. These 
men and boys were good looking and carried themselves 
in a very independent manner, nothing servile about 
them. In fact I have seen nothing of that kowtowing, 
kneeling, and cringing attitude which books about Java 
had led me to expect. They seem gentle and sweet tem- 
pered but not servile. Those at Makassar, however, have 
a bolder bearing than the others. I sometimes try to talk 
to these passengers who know a little English, but such 
conversations are nothing but fatiguing lessons given by 
me in English. I read some Dutch papers every day and 
I have my dictionary with me, but the spoken language 
is difficult. Still I hope to ' ' catch on. ' ' The nights are 
so cool that I have to wear a woolen vest, and yet the 
equator passes through the Celebes and Makassar 
is at sea level. On the ship we do not need mosquito 
nets even in harbor. Last night I slept on deck but I 
suffered somewhat from the cold. 

Off Sanana, 
June 19, 1913. 

I wrote you last from Makassar. Our first call after 
that port was at the Island of Booton south of Celebes. 
I did not go ashore, but hosts of little canoes surrounded 
our ship. They were filled with natives bringing fruit, 
vegetables, and bright colored tropical birds for sale. 
This made things very lively on board where parents 
were buying the birds for their children, while the officers 
and passengers were much interested in the bargaining ; 
the poor ship's cat got many a cuff and kick without 
knowing why. We generally arrive very early at each 
port. I sleep now entirely on deck. The chief engineer 



Through Old Eyes 221 

expressed great astonishment that I could sleep on deck 
when he could not. He said : "Whenever I try to do so, 
I get a pine in my belly. " I said : "You mean you get 
a pain in your abdomen." He insisted that he knew 
what he was saying, that he had been three months 
in London to learn English, and had the authority of a 
London lady for the correctness of the expression. I 
said not even to a physician would I use that word 
because it was not only coarse but comic. I could 
not convince him, only hurt his feelings, for he con- 
sidered his London authority conclusive. 

At Amboina it was raining so I could not go to see the 
coral beds. From Amboina we went to Banda. I was 
up early and made a determined effort to see the famous 
sea gardens. I fell into the hands of the postmaster, 
a half-caste, good looking and speaking English. He 
carried me to his home, a most comfortable one, sur- 
rounded with verandas and in a garden. As far as I 
can judge, the half-castes here are received on a footing 
of perfect equality with the native Dutch. Only 
those distinctions are made which would be made 
among the Dutch themselves. This is very different 
from British India where the Eurasians form a dis- 
satisfied class disowned by both English and natives. 

The postmaster's wife said she would gladly go with 
me on the boat trip but had to dress. While she was 
making her toilet, the agreeable postmaster carried 
me to the nearby hotel tO see the "Dominie," as the 
preacher is called He too was most amiable and said 
he would gladly accompany me. A young Australian, 
staying at the hotel also wished to be of the party, 
and the hostess, a half-caste, had a young lady daughter 
who was in the most exciting stage of a flirtation with 
the young Australian and naturally wanted 1:0 go too. 



222 The Old World 

All these people had to eat their breakfast first, which 
is by no means a European breakfast, but a meal of the 
most solid description including cheeses, smoked beef, 
sardines, cold ham, besides hot dishes of steak, fried 
potatoes, etc. I do not even go to this breakfast; 
I take a cup of tea and two soft-boiled eggs very early. 
The condensed milk I do not like and the butter I do 
not touch, therefore I have added the eggs. The Dutch 
in the tropics eat more than any people I have ever 
seen. They are very big and powerful men, but they 
have a tendency to grow fat as they approach middle 
age. I have tried several times to count the dishes 
which form the famous "rice table," but they are so 
numerous and come so fast, servant after servant bear- 
ing from two to three platters, most of them holding 
several different delicacies, that I have always had 
to give up the task. There are many kinds of fish, fowl, 
and meat dishes on the list, one so different from any- 
thing I ever saw that I must speak of it. I thought 
at first it was beautifully fried potatoes, the biggest 
and finest I had ever seen. It is made of shrimp pounded 
into a paste then fried in round thin cakes which are 
crisp and curl over like potatoes. I eat them with 
pleasure but they are very rich. Well, I have wandered 
from my subject. When our large party had reached 
the water where a sail boat was waiting for us, the 
weather had changed. The sea was rough and the sky 
overcast. By common consent the expedition was 
deferred till my return. After this disappointment 
they accompanied me on a walk through the nutmeg 
groves where all the year ripe and green fruit and flowers 
are seen on the trees at the same time. The nutmeg 
looks just like a nectarine and when ripe bursts open 
and looks very pretty. The nut within is shiny black 



Through Old Eyes 223 

with a lace work of bright red covering it. This is the 
mace. There are doves which swallow these nuts 
whole, digest the mace, and reject the nut uninjured, so 
that they scatter the trees all over the island. We went 
up the hill through lovely groves of nutmeg and kanari 
trees. These latter bear a nut from which a fine oil is 
made. We went to the house of the manager where we 
were treated to fresh cocoanut milk and fruit, cocoa and 
tea were also offered. We were shown the process of cur- 
ing nutmegs and mace. The nutmegs are first smoked, 
then rolled in lime to keep off insects, and packed 
in boxes holding over a bushel. The manager com- 
plained that the price was very low. We also visited 
an old fort well preserved from the colonial days. It 
was on a hill and would have commanded an extensive 
view but for the luxuriant vegetation on all sides. 
Banda is most lovely, in a bay around which rises steep 
wooded mountains straight up from the water. A 
gigantic volcano, perfectly symmetrical and clothed in 
green, seems to bound all one side of the bay. The 
flirtatious young lady got up a great excitement which, 
however, was not contagious. She screamed franti- 
cally, and when we inquired the cause, she had seen a big 
lizard crawling up a tree. The young Australian, whose 
chivalric heart these screams were intended to reach, 
was as much interested in lizards as I was, and the 
young lady who had run at a tearing speed down the 
road was obliged to repass the fatal spot without help 
or solace, which she did in an impetuous run. As she 
is rather fat and spread out her elbows, she looked like 
the picture of "sis cow" running down the road in 
"Uncle Remus. " When I got got back to the ship and 
had eaten lunch, I determined to try my luck alone in a 
visit to the coral beds. The ship's agent advised me 



224 The Old World 

not to take a prow, a long narrow canoe with out- 
riggers, saying it was dangerous. I found one, how- 
ever, and engaged it. I could see no danger in it and it 
went very rapidly. I had a lovely row and it was not 
too hot though at 2 o'clock p.m. I am constantly 
surprised at the delightful climate of these regions. 
It is hotter to-day off Sanana than I have felt it since 
leaving Batavia, but the heat here is not nearly so 
great as I have felt it in the United States. The 
sea was ruffled and the view of the coral beds very 
tantalizing but very beautiful, the constant refraction 
however prevented them from being seen distinctly. 
On my second visit to Amboina, I got a prow and went 
out to visit the marine gardens there, but the tide was 
high which made the water too deep for my imperfect 
vision. However, I enjoyed their beauty and that of the 
bright colored fish swimming over them. Some had the 
most vivid hues I have ever seen and they all looked so 
free and happy in their beauty. When we return for 
the third and last time to Amboina, we shall stay three 
or four days, and I hope to be able to get a perfect view 
of these marvelous gardens of the sea. The boatman 
charged me too much, a dollar an hour. That would be 
dear even in our country and it was far too much here. 
This is the rainy season among these islands and it is 
hard to find the sea unruffled. Amboina was the scene 
of a tragedy in early colonial times. Some English 
traders settled there were accused by the Dutch author- 
ities (who were in a panic of fear for the safety of their 
fort) of wishing to seize it. They were tortured horri- 
bly till made to confess and implicate one another. 
Then they were put to death. Their Bibles in which 
they left recorded their sufferings and their innocence 
found their way to England, but under the Stuarts no 



Through Old Eyes 225 

redress could be had. Not till Cromwell's time did the 
question come before the English government, and, in 
the war which followed, their cause was avenged in 
the sufferings of people entirely innocent of offense 
against those poor martyrs, for the guilty parties were 
long since dead. 

I have met a good many Dutch missionaries on this 
ship, getting off and on at various ports. The officers 
speak of them with disparagement. I told them what 
a wonderful work our American missionaries were 
doing in their schools and colleges, that it was they who 
were carrying our civilization and language among the 
Oriental races. While in Singapore, I came upon an 
American school of 300 native boys where the instruc- 
tion was given entirely in English. The Chinese appre- 
ciate this and are eagerly taking advantage of it. We 
arrived in Sanana early this morning and I went ashore. 
A small village with one Dutch official and his wife, 
he, sent out by the Dutch government to explore the 
island, she, young and pretty, and only a month in 
the place was dressing the wounds and old sores of the 
natives whom they had put in the old fort. They 
have deep seated sores, she said, from their ignorance 
of hygiene. She and her husband invited me to spend 
the day with them, but I felt with my imperfect know- 
ledge of Dutch and theirs of English I could not repay 
them for their trouble, besides I wanted to write. 
There are two American girls on board who got on at 
Amboina. They are traveling leisurely among these 
islands in order to collect old porcelain. One has a 
passion for it, the other is less of a faddist. Both are 
good looking and apparently rich. They leave the 
ship at Ternate day after to-morrow. I am sorry, for I 
am lonely. They are accompanied by an Australian 

IS 



226 The Old World 

buyer of pearls, who was in the hotels with them in 
Banda and Amboina. I am told that pearls are only a 
by-product of pearl fishing. The shells have a high 
commercial value. I met a pearl fisher who employed 
many divers and he told me much about it. The finest 
pearls are never polished for they come beautiful from 
the shell. 

On Board Ship off Sorong, New Guinea, 

June 28, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

The next stop after Sanana was at Batjan (all these 
islands are in the Moluccas) . I went ashore and was 
caught in a hard rain. I was invited by a native to take 
shelter on the broad veranda of a Chinaman's house. 
There various persons were called or sent for who 
were reputed to speak English, for these people have 
much curiosity. I am so tired of their questions, 
always the same : ' ' Are you traveling alone on the ship 
and why?" This is asked in as many forms as their 
language capacity permits. I sometimes tell them that 
I am not traveling alone and for very good reasons, 
that I could not run a ship either by sail or steam, and 
then I enumerate all the people it takes to run this big 
ship to prove I am not alone. I say I never travel alone, 
always for the same good reason. When they find that 
I am entirely void of understanding, they desist from 
their questioning. A light colored young man sitting 
near me was the Sultan's son, the Crown Prince. I 
talked Dutch to this young man who had been at 
school in Batavia for eight years. He became very- 
friendly and when the rain held up he asked if I wanted 
to see the mosque. As it was Friday, he said his father 
was there at prayer, and he dared not show himself to 



Through Old Eyes 22^ 

his father near the mosque. He was willing to guide me, 
however, and as it chanced we arrived just in time to see 
the Sultan leaving the mosque. The Crown Prince hid 
behind me, I standing near the hedge by the gate. I 
had expected to see some tawdry pageant and was 
completely taken by surprise at seeing the commanding 
figure of the Sultan dressed in the whitest of raiment, a 
broad turban of some silvery stuff on his head, and over 
all an overdress of the finest white figured muslin 
reaching to his ankles, the sleeves hanging loose, for he 
had only thrown it about him. The elegant simplicity 
and dazzling whiteness of his clothing together with his 
fine presence quite left me breathless. He was at- 
tended by some guards and his chief men, a man going 
before with a banner. He made me a sweeping bow 
which I returned, thereby I fear exposing the Crown 
Prince. I was told on the ship that this Rajah is 
greatly respected, but that this son, the oldest, is a 
ne'er-do-well. The young man asked for my card 
and wrote his name, "Prince Achmed. " Our next 
stop was at Ternate where we remained twenty-four 
hours. It rained continuously and I could not visit 
the famous coral beds. Ternate is beautifully situated, 
surrounded by a chain of volcanoes; from the highest 
smoke rises. All are very green. In March there was 
an earthquake and the wife of the Dutch Resident was 
so frightened that she ran on board the company's 
ship clad only in a pair of drawers. The captain 
shut himself up in his stateroom and the lady, realizing 
the situation, went home again. The officers laughed 
very much over this incident. 

The two American girls left the ship here to take an 
expected German steamer for Menado, a town of Cele- 
bes, pn the north coast. The earthquake was very 



228 The Old World 

severe in Menado, as it is much nearer the volcano of 
Sangir, seat of the earthquake. It biu-st one of the 
smaller mountains in two parts throwing one half in 
great fragments into the air whence they fell, covering 
a native village seven meters deep in rock and earth. 
One hundred and seventeen people were buried in this 
village. The accoimt was given me by the official 
whose duty it was to investigate the disaster. It took 
place the latter part of March. The native houses 
have little to fear from earthquakes, but eruptions 
and upheavals as well as the subsidence of the land 
below the waters are ever present dangers. I was 
sorry to part with the American girls. Miss R. has 
something pathetically sad and gentle in her manners. 
Miss M. is her companion. Neither is quite youthful 
but both are very good looking girls. Miss R. came 
back to the boat to invite me to limch at the hotel which 
I declined, but I enjoyed her visit. I called on them 
and saw the most magnificent orchids, big pomolo 
trees loaded with fruit, also strange birds and fowls 
in large coops, all in their hotel garden. Poor Miss M. 
was having much trouble with servants. The two girls 
had urgent need of a laundry man. Miss M. had pro- 
cured one and engaged him to do the work for a certain 
price. No sooner was this arrangement made than 
their maid, whom they brought from Banda, appeared 
and began talking to the man who at once raised his 
price, which was liberal before. Miss M. agreed to a 
partial augmentation but no more. The man was 
firm so she had to drive him out of the place with a 
crowd who had gathered out of curiosity. They said 
they had a fine maid in Banda, who left them there, 
and this one declared directly she got on the ship 
that her finger was hurt and she could neither sev nor 



Through Old Eyes 229 

wash. I advised strong measures against this maid as a 
very worthless piece of luggage. They told me later 
that she had been forced to do the most pressing part 
of the laundry. Miss R. thinks and dreams only of old 
porcelain. She showed me her latest piirchases. The 
Dutch explorer told me the natives of these islands 
venerate certain pieces of old porcelain and bury 
them for security and good luck thinking that the souls 
of their forefathers dwell in the buried treasure. I 
gave Miss. R. my Batavia address and I hope she can 
arrange to go to Sumatra with me. We had a little 
excitement off one of the islands. Two natives lost 
their skiff and swam out to recover it. The skiff drifted 
on the coral reefs and the men, finding it impossible 
for them to reach it, turned to swim back to the ship. 
One of the ship's officers and I were watching them. 
He had a life buoy thrown out and they were rescued, 
thoroughly exhausted. I now speak a little Dutch to 
the captain, but it requires so much time and patience 
on his part that I converse rarely with him for he is a 
very busy man. The missionaries are my best friends. 
They talk to me in Dutch, German, or English and give 
me interesting information. I love to go ashore with 
them. They make my trips most interesting. When 
the ship stopped at Boeli, a missionary on board went 
with me to the mission house where I saw the wife, the 
only white woman on the island. In the neighborhood 
was the school with a native teacher trained by mis- 
sionaries. The children are taught in their own local 
dialect and in Malay. Malay is the universal business 
language in this part of the Orient and is of great use to 
those who wander off to make a living. It is used every- 
where by traders and missionaries. I have learned a few 
words by heart which are very useful. The children at 



230 The Old World 

the little school at Boeli were singing as I entered. 
The teacher accompanied them on a little drum qmte 
skilfully. They were very dirty but were clothed. 

We stopped yesterday in Sorong, the first stopping 
place in New Guinea. The missionary carried me to 
a pretty white sandy beach which was covered with 
shells and coral. I thought how happy our children 
would be picking up these lovely things. I could not 
forbear bringing away a few specimens; they were so 
attractive. We went to a little house in the forest 
where an idol was set up behind a curtain, a roughly 
carved wooden image clothed and with a hat on its head. 
Before the house, I saw on a stump two very perfect 
shells. I was told I might take them but I really have no 
room in my luggage for such souvenirs. At Sorong, I 
had my first view of the Papuans, as these people are 
called. Their hair is a sight to behold, such a frizzled 
mass. It is utterly unkempt in a great bush on their 
heads and of a reddish tinge, but not in such close kinks 
as regular negro hair. Some of the men had their hair 
tied in a tuft just below the crown of the head behind. 
Their clothing was generally a string around the waist 
from which hung in front a small piece of cloth. They 
are not black like the Sudanese, but of a fine bronze 
color. We visited a second village in the afternoon, 
Saonek, where a Chinaman gave the missionary a black 
parrot and where I saw crown pigeons for the first time. 
I did not know pigeons ever grew so big. They have 
very beautiful crests or crowns on their heads and are 
as jpeautiful creatures as I ever saw with exquisite shad- 
ings of blue. Some, I am told, have stars and stripes 
on their crests. The missionary bought two. I saw a 
lovely bird of paradise in a big cage. My appearance 
so frightened it that I could not enjoy looking at its 



Through Old Eyes 231 

beautiful plumage, I suppose I was the only white 
woman it had ever seen. I saw a group of wild-looking 
Papuans, and accompanied by a Chinaman who spoke 
Dutch and a Malay who had some authority in the 
village I approached them. On learning that they were 
heathen, the Malay was a Mohammedan, I told them 
through the two interpreters that character was the 
most important thing whether we were heathen, 
Mohammedan, or Christian; that we pleased God 
equally if we were good, honest, and truthful. Their 
wild looking faces (they wore nothing but bark waist 
bands) lit up and they gave very audible gruntings of 
approval. I felt I was preaching to the oddest type of 
fellow human beings I had ever seen, shaggy, unkempt 
hair standing up in a mass around their heads with 
cigarettes and sticks thrust into it for safe keeping, rude 
bracelets on their arms, and ornaments on their necks. 
The bark waist band and flap in front were their only 
clothing yet these men understood me perfectly. We 
reach Manokooari this afternoon, to-day, the 29th of 
June, the farthest point that I am to see in New Guinea. 
The missionary tells me I miss a great deal by the ship 
not going to Humboldt Bay. It was unfortimate that 
no one told me this at the company's office. I could 
have seen the whole of Java and waited for the ship of 
the 7th of July, which goes to Humboldt Bay. We 
passed this morning an island which the missionary has 
visited. He says cannibals dwell there in the hills, 
but they only eat their enemies. Economically this 
is not so bad. I tried to make the ojfficers on the 
ship look at missionary work from a different point of 
view. I told them the missionaries were the only 
people whose business it was to teach and heal these 
poor savages, their vaccinations alone save cotmtless 



232 The Old World 

suffering. The missionary who, alas, leaves us to-day, 
told me he had vaccinated a whole island, and since then 
there had been no deaths from smallpox, which had 
ravaged it from time to time before. Having gained 
their confidence, he persuaded them also to bury their 
dead instead of putting them in caves and tree-tops, I 
believe each mission house is a center of civilization, and 
a good man has more power for good here than perhaps 
an3rwhere else in the world. I have heard a good deal of 
apparently unbiased testimony to the effect that the 
heathen lose their heathen virtues on becoming Chris- 
tians. Indeed, a missionary's wife told me she had great 
difficulty in keeping her property from their thieving 
hands. But these drawbacks aside, a great barrier is 
removed which separates them from the white races. 
If they could convert the Mohammedans, they would 
advance the progress of the world, but no impression 
can be made on them. I read of a fanatical Moham- 
medan attacking three Dutch officers in Sumatra, 
a short time since. No doubt he thought to do God 
service by killing Christian dogs. The missionaries 
could civilize the Mohammedans if they would confine 
their teachings to secular subjects. A good Moham- 
medan must be an ignorant man who believes that all 
knowledge, if true and useful, is to be found in the 
Koran. Education alone saps this belief, while teach- 
ing them a new religion excites their fanaticism and 
makes it burn all the brighter. They believe that 
Christians should have the choice of paying tribute or 
being put to the sword, as is written in the Koran. If 
missionaries could be sent to teach merely, this fanati- 
cism should disappear and their eventual conversion 
to Christianity made possible. 

We have crossed and recrossed the equator, yet 



Through Old Eyes 233 

the days and nights are mild. I sleep well covered on 
deck, where I am entirely alone. The captain is the 
tallest, strongest man I ever saw. The first officer is 
also tall but he has to look up when speaking to the 
captain. The others reach only to the captain's shoul- 
der. As the riches of these islands are in spices, we 
have to eat an inordinate quantity of them in the soups, 
meats, gravies, etc. I can never learn to like such things 
in soup. 

P. S. I forgot to say that the Australian pearl buyer, 
who came on our ship with the two American girls, was 
only accompanying them by the accident of travel. I 
was glad to know that, for I did not conceive a high 
opinion of him. 

On the Return Trip, 
July I, 1913. 

My DEAR Family: 

We reached Manokooari day before yesterday, the 
29th. As this was my farthest halting place in New 
Guinea, I wanted to do a great deal there. The mis- 
sionary had promised to send one of his teachers with me 
to a little village in the interior so that I might see the 
native life unadulterated by civilization. The steamer, 
however, did not arrive till nearly six o'clock P. M., and 
as there was a fine pier, all the loading and unloading 
could be done by electric light, so that we were able to 
leave at two o'clock the same night. I was, of course, 
greatly disappointed. The natives who came down 
to help unload were astonishing to look at. Their huge 
mass of hair was stuck full of any small articles they 
wanted to use. I don't think they have ever combed 
or washed their hair in their lives, for these processes 



234 The Old World 

might make it lie down . It is not kinky but curly and 
worn in this shaggy mass. The teachers and native 
friends of the missionary came out to meet him in an 
enormously long and extremely narrow prow with very 
far-stretching outriggers crossed and recrossed by 
bamboo canes. The natives squatted on these canes, 
for there was no great amount of space in the canoe 
itself. All these natives had their hair cut and looked 
clean and civilized. They came on board to greet the 
missionary and they were as good looking and as 
intelligent looking as any equal number of our colored 
people. The missionary told me that his principal 
native teacher was taken as a child from one of the 
most savage islands and sold where there was a mission 
school. Being very intelligent, the missionaries gave 
him a good education, sending him to Batavia to study. 
He came back to his cannibal island and converted them 
all to Christianity so that they are now a peaceful and 
gentle people. He has a fine, pleasing face. I parted 
with this missionary with great regret. He was the 
only other passenger left on the ship and he helped 
me much in learning Dutch. I had very little time 
to visit the village, the long wide street of which was 
covered with shells. Along this, I was followed a 
considerable way by a number of these almost naked 
savages who answered my greetings in a friendly 
manner. One native girl danced and jumped with 
delight when I stopped to speak to her. Darkness soon 
drove me back to the ship. On coming aboard I went 
down to wash my hands and face in the bath-room 
where three of these native savages followed me. The 
ship only lands here once a month and some of these 
natives had never seen it before. Next day we lay to 
off Mapia. This island is of coral formation and so 



Through Old Eyes 235 

surrounded by coral reefs that no ship can approach it. 
The water is so deep outside the reefs that the ship 
could not anchor but had to keep its screw working. 
They say the sea here is unfathomable, which means, 
I suppose, that nobody has taken the trouble to fathom 
it. The missionary had told me what little he knew or 
had heard of Mapia; that an American named O'Keefe 
had come there and taken to wife the daughter of a 
Rajah; that he had several children by her, and after 
some years had gone to sea in his schooner and dis- 
appeared. This was about ten years ago. As he had 
a wife in America, his Mapian wife has no right to the 
name of O'Keefe, but the children have, this being the 
ruling of the Dutch government. The woman is still 
living on the island and owns it with her children and 
some other grandchildren of the Rajah. There are, in 
fact, three islands in their possession, forming a big 
copra industry. The manager, in whose hands every- 
thing is left, is an Australian, Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark 
came on board to say that he had three tons of copra 
to ship which was good news for me as I was then per- 
mitted to land. We first went more than two miles in 
the ship's launch, then in a canoe over the beautiful coral 
reefs of many colors, some looking like the blossoms 
of heather, some quite yellow, pure white, etc. Mrs. 
Clark with her little six-year-old boy was on the beach 
to meet us and wanted to take me straightway to her 
house, but the native women plaiting cocoanut leaves 
into mats and baskets under a big shed attracted me. 
They were so neatly dressed, so good looking, and their 
wavy hair so well kept. The men who were loading the 
boats near by with copra were naked, but their masses 
of black hair were done up in neat chignons and the 
young beaux had red sashes around their waists. One 



236 The Old World 

had the form of an Apollo in bronze. All the Mapians 
speak English. Mrs. Clark said O'Keefe's native wife 
speaks English perfectly. I saw papers and magazines 
addressed to her, one the Review of Reviews. I wanted 
so much to see her, but she lived at the other end of the 
island. I presume it was she who taught her people 
English, she being heir of the Rajah and owning the 
land. These people work for the company. Mr. 
Clark tells me he counts eight hours as a day's labor 
beginning early. If there is a press of work, all over- 
time is put to their credit, and when it amounts to 
eight hours, a holiday is given. Mr. Clark knows 
how to get on with these people. Their mutual con- 
fidence is perfect. His wife said to me : "The perfect 
honesty of these people makes me ashamed of my own 
race. They go in and out of our stores where we keep 
everything desired by them, yet never is there the least 
thing missing. They never lie or deceive us in any way . " 
Once when Mr. Clark was there alone, he had to leave on 
business, but on his return he found everything intact, 
not even an egg missing. I regret to have to add that 
he thanked heaven that no missionaries had ever been 
there. He and his wife told me a curious thing about 
this proud people. He calls them proud because they 
fear greatly the slightest reproach from him. They 
told me the native Mapians, this highly sensitive and 
honorable race, were dying out. Formerly they had 
been numerous with large families, but now there 
are only two children on the islands. I saw these two 
children, one a little boy of six, son of a Mapia mother 
by a Fiji father, the other a girl still younger, child of 
a native mother by a father from the Caroline Islands. 
The Clarks say it is unaccountable to them. They 
have asked the people themselves about it, and they 



Through Old Eyes 237 

say they all desire children. The Rajah bears the same 
testimony. He too is married but has no children. 
Not long before O'Keefe came, as Mr. Clark was told, 
cannibals from New Guinea made a descent on Mapia 
and killed and ate men, women, and children. The 
islands have never recovered from these blows and the 
people are dying out ; perhaps the terror of that time has 
been enduring. Mr. Clark has to call in Malays to 
help with the work, but just as soon as one is caught 
stealing, he is shipped off. Mr. Clark's little boy fed 
the pigeons for me, and they came flocking around him 
in great numbers, making a very pretty picture. Mrs. 
Clark took me over her house and kitchen, everything 
in perfect order. She says she has no trouble with 
her two women servants. They work eight hours like 
the men. I hated to leave the Clarks so soon. The 
island was so interesting and pretty. Hardly thirty 
of the native Mapians now live on it and labor has to be 
imported, but the natives act as bosses for the Malay 
coolies, as Mr. Clark speaks no Malay, only English. 
He told me that between the smaller islands there were 
the most marvelous coral beds imaginable where even 
the pure red coral abounded. He said it would take 
two days going in one of his boats to properly see these 
wonderful coral beds where not only every color is 
represented but fish of brilliant tints swim over them in 
the transparent waters. If the ship came here oftener, 
I should have accepted Mrs. Clark's invitation to stay 
over with them. 

In about an hour, we shall stop at Saonek to take on 
copra and resin. This latter is not like the resin from 
our pines. It is very hard and brittle, something like 
feldspar nor does it taste strong like our resin. The 
officers have bought from the Chinese traders stuffed 



238 The Old World 

birds of paradise and beautiful living parrots. I have 
just been below to see the parrots, but they were busy 
eating bananas and resented my presence. 

On Board Ship off Island of Sanana, 

July 12, 1913. 

My DEAR Family: 

I have not written much in the last few days as we 
have been going over the same ground. At Saonek and 
Sorong in New Guinea I landed and delighted myself 
walking on the beach and picking up the pretty shells, 
even though I had to throw them down again. On 
July 4th, we made three landings; at one of them, 
Tobelo, I visited the mission house, the garden of 
which was full of lovely flowers. I was given a big 
bunch. I was shown over the carpenter shop where 
native boys were learning that trade and also over the 
hospital for sick natives. I was struck with the num- 
ber of well-kept gardens and nice looking houses in the 
village. Tobelo is on the end of the Island of Hal- 
maheira where the missionary says they have made 
10,000 converts. That night the captain asked the 
Dutch Resident and his wife to dinner. I decorated 
the table profusely with my flowers and told them it was 
in honor of the 4th. They immediately wished me to 
drink a toast with them. When I told them of my 
visit to the mission and how favorably I had been 
impressed, neither the captain, the Resident, nor his 
wife agreed with me. They told me there were as many 
as 10,000 converts on the big island, but that in the vil- 
lage there were very few Christians. I said the influence 
of a cultivated white family with school, hospital, and 
carpenter shop could be felt by both pagan and Moham- 
medans. They replied that the natives after conver- 



Through Old Eyes 239 

sion give up their temperate habits, take to drink, and 
are not so reliable as before. The wife of the Resident 
said that though the missionaries were paid by the 
government to teach the children and care for the sick, 
that they refused to help those who were not Christian, 
so the heathen and the Mohammedan sick and wounded 
were constantly coming to her and her husband for 
treatment; that her husband, having exhausted all of 
his supplies, had just written to the authorities for 
help. Then, too, if a Christian family did not attend 
church regularly they were not admitted to the hospital 
when ill. In short, I find much opposition to the 
missionaries on the part of the civil and military authori- 
ties with whom I have conversed. I believe it is because 
these missions are not supported by private effort as is 
the case with American missions. When a govern- 
ment undertakes to manage religious affairs, it is apt 
to cast a blight upon them. The missionary becomes a 
functionary and does as little as possible for his pay. 
This is my surmise. Of coiu"se, I told the company 
the wonderful work our missions are doing in China 
and in the Philippines where they also taught the 
English language, the greatest boon to the natives. 
I had been landing at all these villages with the help of 
the second officer, who, in order to get me safe to land, 
would sometimes wade in the sea water. When I 
heard that he was having fevers I felt very badly about 
it, so at Galela I went ashore with two coolies only. 
On nearing the land, I had to leave the launch and 
get into a long, narrow prow which had a good deal of 
water in it. I should have stepped into this water, 
of course, but I did nothing so prudent. I put my foot 
on the narrow edge and tumbled straightway into 
the sea very far over my head. One coolie held me by 



240 The Old World 

the hand and called to the other for help. Together 
they dragged me out wet to the skin all over. My hand- 
bag went under too, but my brave little watch never 
stopped running. I got to shore and was soon sur- 
rounded by a crowd of natives among which the women 
expressed their sympathy by sighs and gestures. I got 
my wet clothing, heavy with the black sand, and returned 
much disgusted to the ship. The officers were taking a 
late breakfast on deck. I had to go down to my 
stateroom for the money to pay the two coolies for 
fishing me out of the water, and so run the gaimtlet 
of the officers' mirth twice. They thought it awfully 
funny. I had to spend the morning washing my things 
and hanging them in the wind to dry. As I had only 
brought one pair of corsets, I had to let them dry on me, 
a very uncomfortable experience. My silk mantle 
dried quickly. It is very useful. I wear it every day, 
have it on now. This ducking has cooled my ardor 
for landing at all these little villages. We were four 
days among very small islands loading ebony logs. 
The officers and two native passengers went ashore 
shooting several times. By the way, it makes me feel a 
little queer to sit at table with these very dark natives. 
They go from one little landing to another. They are 
shippers of ebony, copra, or resin. The ship servants 
nearly always serve them first at table. Every dish is 
handed last to the captain and I sit next to him. The 
first officer told me that Dutch girls seem to prefer 
half-castes, which means, I suppose, that no color line 
is drawn, yet the servants over here are treated in the 
same humiliating manner as those in the French and 
English colonies. For instance, one will come with a 
message while the first officer is talking to me. He does 
not notice him. I say: ''Please see what the boy 



Through Old Eyes 241 

wants. " "Let him wait, " he answers. I then say : " I 
refuse to talk until you have got rid of that boy." 
Then more remonstrances^from him until at last the poor 
patient, humble creature is attended to. I see none 
of the courtesy and consideration that we show our 
servants, yet the native first-class passengers are put 
on a perfect equality while traveling. There seems to 
be no declasses over here, which pleases me, for I felt 
very sorry for them while traveling in India years ago, 
and in Siam this year. Game on these little wooded 
islands is plentiful, the loveliest pigeons I ever saw, so 
beautifully colored, and so large that half of one is a 
portion for a man. The officers are poor shots. At one 
island where I intended to go ashore to look at the 
beautiful orchids, I was told that a party from the ship 
were going pigeon shooting. I said to myself that the 
safest place for me was the ship, so I stayed on board. 
I heard a great deal of shooting during the morning, but 
I fancied it sounded wild. Very little game was brought 
back, but the first officer had much to relate of a certain 
bird he felt sure he had wounded. I made rather a 
cruel joke on him by saying that I was afraid to land 
while he was shooting on the island, and also teasing 
him about his imaginary victim. He got so angry I 
saw I had to stop. I can't afford to quarrel with the 
only person who speaks English and gives me informa- 
tion of what is going on. He is the most conceited 
person I have ever seen in my life, always telling me how 
many hearts he has broken and how irresistible are his 
attractions. He showed me some love letters and locks 
of hair ; says he is engaged to three girls now but never 
intends to marry. Such self-satisfaction I have never 
seen. I wish some nice American girl could get 
hold of him and give his self-esteem a complete shaking 
16 



242 The Old World 

down. How thoroughly she could do it and how badly 
he needs it! I told him this, but he replied with a 
simper that she too would find him irresistible. When 
I got off at Ternate, I was prepared with a score of 
Malay phrases, not knowing that those people do not 
speak Malay, but at last I secured a boat and was 
carried over some lovely coral beds where bright, 
colored fishes could be seen swimming in a forest of 
coral. There were strange forms as of cactus and star- 
fish of a bright purple color. The man dived and 
brought up two for me. I held them in my hand and 
watched their slow movements and then gently slipped 
them back in their fairylike home. 

Off Amboina, 
July 17, 1913. 

My DEAR Family: 

This is the third day we have been in this port and it 
has rained continually. I was told that when the vessel 
remained more than two days in a given port, the 
passengers must go to a hotel. I have been so well, 
sleeping on deck with no mosquitoes and no muslin 
curtain, that I asked the captain to let me stay on 
board and pay for the extra days. I asked the first 
officer something about Holland. He said such ques- 
tions did not interest him, only one thing about his 
country was important to him and that was its liberty. 
If a foreign power undertook to invade it, he would arm 
himself. I interrupted him to say: "Oh, don't arm 
yourself. Go in any other capacity where you would 
at least not endanger the lives of your fellow country- 
men. I suggest the Red Cross service or any other 
where weapons are not used. " I laughed so heartily he 
had to join in too. The captain, hearing this laughter, 



Through Old Eyes 243 

came up and I tried to tell him in Dutch, but now 
the first officer had the joke on me. The captain 
could not understand me. At one of the little obscure 
landing places, the ship came near going on a sand-bank, 
and soundings had to be taken all around. In all these 
broad seas we have traveled over, there are only three 
lighthouses and no buoys, but the captain is very 
competent and feels to the full his responsibility. 

Makassar, 
July 22, 1913. 

A family who left the ship to go to a hotel in Amboina 
told a tale of woe on their return. The mosquitoes 
devoured them night and day and the rain kept them 
shut up in the house where the children fretted. They 
kept asking their mother where their "oma" was. 
That meant me. It means grandmother in Malay and 
they have a Malay nurse. They come to me and kiss 
me and call me "oma, " which I think very sweet, but 
they are not so beautiful nor interesting as my beauties 
at home. I feel really grateful to the captain for 
letting me stay on the ship at Amboina. I am trying 
to keep well, and this fine, big deck suits me admirably. 
The new men passengers know I sleep on deck and never 
play games very late. In the harbors they load some- 
times all night, as for instance last night, but though 
there is so much noise, the men singing at their work, I 
sleep quite well through it aU. The one great trouble is 
that the sailors wash the deck so early, but often I sleep 
through that too. Our captain got news yesterday 
that one of the company's ships had just struck a reef. 
The unfortunate captain is much blamed. I shall feel 
thankful when we arrive safely at Surabaya. I went 
to the club at Makassar where I enjoyed the late papers. 



^44 The Old World 

They are all in Dutch and I read them with a dictionary. 
I cannot tell you how excited I got over the Balkan 
news, the Allies quarreling among themselves and the 
Turks retrieving their losses. 

I wish Sedley could see the wonderful pajamas 
these Dutchmen wear. The trousers have brilliant 
designs of climbing vines and huge flowers winding up 
their legs. The men appear proud of these remarkable 
productions, and walk the deck in them early in the 
morning. Some are very broad and some are tight, 
but all have the loudest decorations. 

Sanatorium, Tosari, 
August 3, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

• I have been here a week and have had the pleasure of 
receiving more home letters. When I first got off the 
ship, I wanted to talk to every well-dressed woman I 
saw; I had been so exclusively with men for weeks. 
At the hotel in Surabaya, a passenger came up to talk 
to me whom I had avoided on the ship because I felt 
I had made myself ridiculous about him. One morn- 
ing at the port of Amboina, I was sitting on deck study- 
ing Dutch, when two servants brought this man up and 
put him on a settee. After a while I heard frightful 
groans and springing up I found the man, an enormous 
fellow, with his face twitching convulsively and the 
sweat rolling in big drops from his brow. I asked him 
if he wanted a doctor. He said ' ' yes, " so I went in search 
of the second officer and told him I thought the man 
was in great danger. He came with me to the man 
who still said he wanted a doctor, so off went the second 
officer in the launch. I got some water and sat mop- 
ping the man's big bullhead. Presently the first officer 



Through Old Eyes 245 

came along and leaning over spoke to the patient with 
such a quizzical expression that I saw he didn't believe he 
was in a serious condition. Then the gigantic captain 
came up, leaned over, and speaking in a low voice had 
the same quizzical look on his face. I got away and 
soon the doctor came. I tried to avoid that man after 
this. I had a sure instinct that I had made myself 
ridiculous, and it was true, as you will see in the sequel. 
On my way up here, I stopped at Pasouronen and 
took a drive through the sugar-cane country; aU the 
work seems to be done by hand, the cane planted in 
trenches, the earth filled in gradually. I got out of the 
carriage at a swimming pool of very clear v/ater filled 
with fish, but the monkeys were more interesting — small 
gray ones, many with baby monkeys clinging to them, 
the queerest looking creatures. I bought bananas 
and fed them and found them most amusing. They 
could not stand my fixed gaze but would slink away. 
That afternoon I was going to the post-office and stopped 
to inquire the way of a beautiful young woman who 
decided it would be easier to accompany me than to give 
directions. But after a few moments she called a 
carriage and into that we got with her dear dog. The 
post was only a short distance. When I got my stamps 
we went back to her house. She was strongly opposed 
to my paying for the carriage, which of course I did, 
and had a very pleasant visit. She gave me some news- 
papers to read. As I promised to take them back, 
I returned to her house after dark and found her hus- 
band there, two very handsome young people not long 
married. They gave me the latest paper which they 
had evidently read hastily in order to do me a favor. 
There were no papers at the hotel. I started early 
next morning for this place, first by carriage, changing 



246 The Old World 

later the one horse for two horses and still later giving 
up the carriage for horseback. It is up, up, up all the 
way. I had one coolie to guide my horse and another 
to bring my luggage. This place is six thousand feet 
above sea level and the way very steep, but I took 
pleasure in walking up some of the high hills. Some 
tourists I have met here made the whole trip on foot, 
and they tell me they saw the most curious black mon- 
keys with long hair. I have a pleasant room with a 
veranda where I sit and where I have a table loaded with 
beautiful flowers. This big garden is full of lovely rose 
bushes in full bloom and begonias higher than my head 
and great masses of heliotrope all in bloom. The flowers 
here have no resting time but have to bloom eternally. 
This is really a sanatorium in charge of a doctor. The 
doctor's wife, Mrs. Fangman, called on me yesterday 
with her children. I had been introduced to her by a 
sweet and refined American lady who left yesterday. 
Mrs. Fangman and I talked children. Hers are beauties. 
I spoke of the roses in the garden and she said the 
notices not to pull them were put up because some of the 
guests abused the privilege scandalously, but that I 
could gather all I wanted. After her call, she sent me 
a glass bowl full of fresh violets. The first night here 
at dinner who should come in and take seats by me but 
the two American girls, Miss R. and Miss M. I was 
truly glad to see them. The officers on the ship had 
tried to tease me by saying they were commercial trav- 
elers buying old porcelain to resell. I said if I ever 
met them again I should find out, and we had discussed 
various means of approaching the subject with delicacy. 
Well, after dinner I took them to my room and we 
laughed over the old ship jokes together until, with my 
usual frankness, I said: "And they teased me by saying 



Through Old Eyes 247 

you were to have a shop and sell your fine old porcelain." 
Good heavens ! Miss R. was dreadfully hurt and I was 
dreadfully sorry. I did my best to smooth it over but 
she was deeply wounded. She traveled for years with 
her father who had this passion for collecting old porce- 
lain and she is completing his collection. I said: 
"What are you going to do with it all?" the question I 
should have asked originally. She answered: "I have 
a big house and I am going to fill it with my porcelain. " 
She said she had sent twenty-one cases of it to London 
from these islands. At the table these girls sit on my 
left while on my right is an English ofiicer, a captain 
stationed at Mandalay, Burma, here on vacation. He 
is a refined young man and I like him because he has 
all the chivalrous feelings toward women which dis- 
tinguishes our race. If I knew him better, I shoiild 
introduce him to these girls, but he leaves day after 
to-morrow. Yesterday morning I took a long walk with 
the two American girls, and something made me think of 
the sick man on the ship and I told them a story he had 
confided to me in Surabaya about his marriage, that 
his wife had married him because he was rich and then 
wanted to lead a life of idle pleasure while he wanted to 
take a scientific course at the University of Zurich; he is 
Swiss. This led to quarrels between them. He per- 
sisted in his studies while his wife became more and 
more dissatisfied and demanded a divorce. As he loved 
her devotedly, he refused this. One day he discovered 
a letter written to her by a rival which opened his eyes 
to the state of affairs. He granted a divorce and gave 
the other man the choice of marrying his wife or of being 
shot. The woman was preferred to the pistol. When 
I condemned his wife, he defended her and seemed to 
love her still. Then I went on to say to the girls why I 



248 The Old World 

had avoided the man on the ship. They became 
intensely interested, got me to describe him minutely, 
and then informed me that he was in the hotel at 
Amboina with them for a week during the whole of 
which time he kept servants, hotel keeper, and guests 
in terror of their lives. He was on a tearing drunk 
and everybody had to lock their doors for fear of him. 
He nearly killed one of the servants by kicking him, 
and broke up quantities of crockery, pitching it across 
the dining-room. Evidently the hotel had turned him 
over to the ship to sober him up, which took some days. 
When the girls told me this I was so astonished I could 
only stare at them. I see now that both captain and 
first officer understood the situation perfectly and were 
secretly much amused at my mopping the fellow's 
head, but I really do not see how I could have acted 
differently under the circumstances. The English 
captain here says that I must telegraph to him when 
I start to Mandalay from Rangoon and he will see that 
I am made comfortable and he wants to show me his 
regiment of crack Sikhs. He says he will meet me at the 
station too, but I told him I would not write if he were 
going to any trouble for me. All this is because I 
criticized the English treatment of natives in India. 
He seems a refined and high-toned man, and I think I 
shall let him take a little trouble for me in Mandalay. 
It is so cold up here in the mountains that I sleep under 
four blankets and a steamer rug. Miss R. and her 
companion have a pretty villa with another and a 
better servant than the one in Ternate. They always 
seem to me to be lonely. They certainly do not appear 
to care to make friends and are not talkative. I per- 
suaded them to come in the music room in the evening, 
but while I am chatting Dutch with someone they go 



Through Old Eyes 249 

off. With all Miss R.'s wealth I am sorry for her 
because I believe she is lonely. It may be because of 
her wealth that she is isolated, but it should not be so. 



TosARi, Java, 
August 10, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I really enjoy every minute of my time here and 
wish I could stay longer than two weeks. I see a good 
deal of the American girls as they sit near me at table. 
The Mandalay captain left some days ago. The 
night before he left, at the dinner table he said to me 
very solemnly : " I am going to show you all that is worth 
seeing in Mandalay, but," he added more gravely, 
"there is one place I cannot take you to, I cannot take 
you to the Woman's Club." Now I had never heard 
of the Woman's Club in Mandalay and said nothing, 
but like Mrs. Bluebeard I felt a hankering for the 
forbidden spot. That night in the music room we 
were all seated around the big table with two other 
gentlemen from Mandalay present. The desire to 
tease the captain became irresistible. I had under- 
stood him perfectly at the table, for he had al- 
ready told me his heart's secret, and I had deeply and 
truly sympathized with him. He has been treated so 
abominably that now he regards all young women 
as so many ravening animals of prey seeking under 
a fair exterior to gratify their rapaciousness. I said 
then in the music room to the company around the 
table: "The captain has promised to show me all the 
interesting places of Mandalay, but he says he cannot 
take me to the Woman's Club, which seems to me the 



250 The Old World 

natural place for me to go. Why can't he accompany 
me there?" The captain who takes himself very 
seriously buried his face in a book. I continued: "On 
reflection I don't care to go to Mandalay at all unless I 
can go to the Woman's Club. Why can't the captain 
go there? " His friends from Mandalay were silent, but 
he could stand it no longer and said in deep tones: "I 
will take you there, " and immediately rushed off to the 
billiard room. Of course, I have been repenting my 
lack of feeling ever since, but really that man needs 
someone to laugh at him ; he takes himself too seriously. 
When I first met him I quoted to him a conversation 
that I had with a British officer in India in 1897, who 
told us he struck his men, and on one occasion had let 
his shadow fall on their rice pot till they changed the 
rice twice, throwing the potful away, but the third 
time having no more they were forced to eat the defiled 
food. When the captain heard that he said I must 
certainly come to Mandalay and see his Punjab Sikh 
regiment and convince myself what a false idea I had 
of their treatment. However, I knew before that the 
Gurkhas and Sikhs were treated with the utmost respect 
by their officers, for they are the bravest of the brave 
and the most loyal. 

I had a pleasant little experience the other day. I 
was sitting on my veranda patching and darning, and 
had put a big chair in front of me for more privacy, 
when a young Englishman approached and said: "Are 
you Mrs. Ware? Do you not remember me?" Of 
course I had to acknowledge with mortification and 
regret that I did not, for I cannot remember faces. 
Well, this young man said he had met me at Mrs. 
Joblin's in Saigon and that Mrs. Joblin would so often 
say: "I wonder where Mrs. Ware is now? I wish I 



Through Old Eyes 251 

could hear from her." Perhaps this was an exaggera- 
tion of the polite young man, but I was much gratified 
and had a long conversation with him, he threading my 
needles the while and not failing to observe that they 
were rusty. Next day "Mr. Brooks" had to leave, to 
my regret, for he is rather more cultivated than the 
military element. He has promised to send me a 
collection of stamps which he has got tired of. This 
will be good news to Virginius Dabney, but I shall send 
some of them to Miss Ethel Moore. Her cards of 
introduction have been of great service to me. I got 
into the Van Rossem house through her, and her cousin 
was the means of introducing me to the Rairdens who 
have been extremely nice to me. 

The Mandalay captain's two friends are still here and 
sit at table with us, where we certainly have a lively 
time at meals. Miss R. is the most taciturn and shy 
girl I have met. The two young men are both cap- 
tains. One of them told me he had tried to talk to 
the American girls but that they answered in mono- 
syllables with averted faces. I introduced them to the 
young ladies and even went further. I changed places 
at table so as to put the young men next to the girls, 
and I laughingly told one of them that I would recom- 
mend him for the Carnegie hero prize if he could get 
them to talk to him. This young man is not very 
fluent himself, but he makes strenuous efforts to be 
entertaining to them. Three or four days ago at 
dinner the young lady companion came alone to the 
table and said that she and Miss R, had eaten so many 
things at their afternoon tea that the latter would not 
come to dinner at all. Thereupon one of the captains 
observed he wished he could be invited to one of these 
afternoon teas. I said: "That is simple enough. We 



252 The Old World 

shall all three go next Sunday at four o'clock to the 
villa and take tea. The young ladies will have some 
days for preparation and no doubt will feast us roy- 
ally." I then asked, while Miss M. was convulsed 
with laughter, what each of the gentlemen preferred for 
afternoon tea. We all made choice of the most impos- 
sible things to procure and fixed upon this afternoon, 
for to-day is Simday, for the much talked of tea. I 
said to Miss R. privately not to pay any attention to 
our jokes but to give us a simple cup of tea. I wonder 
what course she will pursue. These two young men 
might be able to draw the girls out of their reticence and 
shyness but for the attraction of the gambling table, so 
irresistible to most men. They spend their evenings 
gambling at auction bridge. I always ask what luck 
they have had ; one says that he is lucky while the other 
loses hopelessly. Miss R. and I are not entirely con- 
genial. I offered to lend her my Current Opinion 
containing press comments on Wilson's inaugural. She 
answered that she hated the very name of Wilson. I 
replied that his utterances had been on so high a plane 
and the people so convinced of his sincerity that a new 
spirit seemed to have taken possession of the country, 
and I hoped for legislation which would improve 
the condition of the working classes. She hardly per- 
mitted me to finish what I had to say, interrupting to 
observe that she had absolutely no sympathy for the 
working classes ; that all her sympathies were for those 
who suffered from their strikes. I mentioned how 
indifferent governments and capital had been to their 
misery, how long and severe the struggle had been for 
the simple right to combine, how women and little 
children had passed their lives underground in mines 
or in the foul air of factories, forgotten of the world, 



Through Old Eyes 253 

apparently forgotten by God till at last the right to 
combine had lifted them somewhat and the conscience 
of the world had been awakened to the horrors of their 
fate, but that their share of happiness was still too 
small, and I trusted a way might be found to increase it 
with such a man as Wilson as our leader, a statesman 
who I believed possessed noble qualities of heart. 
-She drowned my voice in excited denunciation of the 
crimes and sufferings arising through strikes, so I deter- 
mined never to speak on such subjects to her again. 
Her attitude is that of a great many wealthy people 
who think that money should buy every privilege and 
the exemption from every inconvenience. When I say : 
"Let's go to lunch or to dinner because it is unjust 
to the servants to keep them waiting so long at table" it 
excites her scorn. She says the hotels that have table 
d'hdie are trying to force people to restrict themselves 
to fixed hours for meals — the effect being to fill the 
restaurants with the rich who are deserting the hotels. 
She wants her meals as late as she can possibly get 
them. Her sympathies are all for her own class in 
society. In talking to her I avoid now all my pet sub- 
jects of conversation, for after all Miss R. appeals in a 
measure to my sympathies; she is very lonely. Her 
mother died when she was quite young, her father 
made a constant companion of her and together they 
traveled all over the world. He died four years ago 
leaving her entirely alone. Her. companion is a pretty 
cultured girl of her own age, yet they call each other 
Miss M. and Miss R. very formally it seems to my 
southern ears. I am alw^ays trying to make them laugh 
and joke and be gay. 

I took the ride to the grand and active volcano called 
Bromo. I asked the manager to call me early as I 



254 The Old World 

wished to start at half-past six. He said, "Why don't 
you go with the party at five?" I answered that I did 
not know them and preferred to go alone. He there- 
upon observed that I was too old to go on such a trip 
alone, but I persisted, saying I would not force myself 
on other people. The manager had me called before 
five, and not until I had eaten my breakfast and was 
ready to start did it dawn on me that I had been out- 
witted and forced to start with the others. It was 
about the loveliest ride I ever took. I had the most 
comfortable saddle and on top of that a folded blanket. 
I walked a great deal up those beautiful hills which 
prevented my getting stiff. At the head of the Pass, 
the panorama was marvelous. I never saw so wild, so 
savage, so barren a spot. Before and below me lay 
the sea of sand out of which rise the volcanic cones. 
The desert basin was bounded by an arid, deeply fur- 
rowed mountain ridge. I descended the steep slopes on 
foot and below in the desert mounted my horse. After 
passing round a symmetrical mountain cone with 
regular fluted sides, I came in sight of the huge, gloomy 
crater of Bromo. I mounted the 250 stone steps which 
lead to its rim, and there in a deep and mighty cauldron, 
with bare and seamed sides devoid of every vestige of 
vegetation, lay the mighty mass of lava which seethed 
and rumbled with now and then puffs of smoke and a 
lurid glare. I stood a long time looking down into this 
abyss which seemed to communicate with the nether 
world. When I got back to the hotel I was not even 
tired. I felt as though I had been drinking champagne. 
I met among the party this morning an old gentleman 
from New Zealand, who seemed so astonished at my 
walking up the hills and so flattered when he found that 
he was younger than I that he seems drawn to me ever 



Through Old Eyes 255 

since. Now I prefer young people, yet I have under- 
taken cheerfully to give this old gentleman correct 
political views on all current topics. I have lent 
him my American magazines, and he is so enthusiastic 
over Current Opinion that he means to subscribe to it 
when he returns to New Zealand. I have also fully 
informed him of all the noble qualities of Woodrow 
Wilson, and he now declares himself to be the most 
ardent Wilson admirer. He will introduce the Wilson 
cult into New Zealand and that land will have a new 
hero. 

August II, 1913. 

Well, those girls never did invite us to come to tea, 
and we did not have the courage to go without an 
invitation. I called later and saw them feeding vaga- 
bond dogs on dainties they had better have offered us, 
but they certainly have the joke on us now. 

Tenger Mountain Hotel 

(Some Miles Lower than Tosari) 

August 17, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I was very happy at Tosari. There was a very 
pleasant society there of both Dutch and English. The 
Dutch were very musical and we had lovely concerts 
every evening. I took a great fancy to a Dutch lady 
and her husband who both played wonderfully well. 
She was ill when I left, but I went to her villa to say 
good-bye and we parted like old friends. She spoke no 
English so I had to speak Dutch with her altogether. 
Then there was a charming French family with one little 
girl who would come to me to be petted and would 
prattle French and sing French songs so sweetly, only 



256 The Old World 

I am getting so deaf I do not understand children very- 
well. I got up before four o'clock one morning to as- 
cend the 9000 ft. mountain, Penandjeaan. (This was 
at Tosari.) It was so dark down in the ravines that 
I was frightened and began to say to myself that I was 
much too old for such excursions. I could not see 
to guide the horse and there were several bridges to 
cross, and I could hear the waters splashing under me as 
the horse waded through while the guide was some dis- 
tance behind, but soon the ascent began and the bright 
starlight showed the road. The Southern Cross was 
very beautiful and another marvelous star that refused 
to pale untn the sun appeared. The view from Penand- 
jeaan repaid me for all the effort and all the anxiety. 
I should, however, have got off the horse and walked 
up some of those hills. I really wanted to do so but 
was afraid the fog would have time to rise and obscure 
the view. In this dry season, one can only count 
on clear skies in the very early hours, therefore I rode 
all the way and it tired me, but that view was so wonder- 
ful that my enthusiasm made me forget all bodily His. 
Bromo had prepared for my benefit the most glorious 
spectacle. Clouds of steam were rising to a very great 
height above the crater brilliantly lit up by the early 
sun. A rosy glow spread over the surface of these clouds 
reflected from the fires beneath. Bromo lay between 
the two other volcanic cones, Smaroo, which was in 
active eruption last November, darkening the air at 
Tosari with falling ashes, and destroying plantations 
with its lava, and another cone not so distinctly visible. 
The beauty of this scene was that of savage desolation 
and grandeur. The mighty forces working beneath 
these three volcanoes in their desert of sand hemmed in 
by barren and rugged mountains seemed to mark the 



Through Old Eyes 257 

place as the abode of mysterious and evil powers. 
When I started down, I felt as though I cotdd run all 
the way to Tosari, but climbing does me more good. 
I took a very bad cold the last three days of my stay 
in Tosari and lost my voice. I had hoped the English 
captain would win the Carnegie hero medal, but after 
I became speechless I found that my rdle had been to 
start subjects of conversation for the young people, 
thus keeping them talking. There was much silence 
when I could no longer make myself heard. The 
English lady who played bridge so continuously with 
our two captains left before I did. To my surprise, she 
came to my veranda to say good-bye and gave me her 
address in England. She asked me to run down from 
London to see her and said she would show me a part 
of England well worth seeing. Of course I thanked her 
warmly. The two American girls were very kind in 
offering me wraps which I accepted with gratitude. A 
young Dutch girl tried to induce me to take a warm 
undervest by saying she had never worn it. I might 
have taken it had she said it was worn out. I really 
needed winter clothing at Tosari. Any one who goes 
there with warm clothes will be delighted with the 
climate, but there are no bedroom fires and people shiver 
in the mornings and evenings. My bill was so moder- 
ate that I had to ask the manager whether he had not 
forgotten some of the items. Everybody was good to 
me up there and the servants gratefid for their feeS. 
The manager gave me a very fine horse to ride down 
here day before yesterday, but I did not mount him 
until I had climbed over the high mountain pass. I got 
on the horse when the descent began. The way was 
so beautiful, and I felt very light hearted and happy. 
My cold is almost well, for this place is much warmer 
17 



258 The Old World 

than Tosari. Some of the guests here seemed to know 
me when I arrived; they said they had seen me in the 
hotel at Tosari, so I do not feel lonely. I took a charming 
walk with a gentleman and his wife yesterday, and we 
saw monkeys gamboling in the tops of tall trees. They 
are the most active creatures on earth and to me, when 
wild and free, the most fascinating. I spend a good deal 
of time reading the Java papers and am much interested 
in the Balkan situation. 

Solo, Java 

August 24, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

I am still deeply depressed over the sorrowful news of 
the death of my dearest Susan Smedes; so much has 
passed out of my life with her. Her last dear letter to 
me was dated June 23d, and she died on July 4th, 
the day I was loading the table on the steamer with 
those wonderful tropical flowers which would have so 
delighted her heart. I still cannot think or speak of 
her without tears. 

I wrote last from the hotel in the Tenger Mountains 
where I remained four days and got well of my cold and 
sore throat. Two Englishmen and an American came 
down from Tosari also. As they were interesting com- 
panions, I hoped they would remain, but the two En- 
lishmen departed in wrath next morning because they 
had suffered from the cold, not having enough blankets 
on their beds. The American who remained told me 
they used very bad language and said they should 
warn their friends not to come to a hotel where guests 
were left to freeze and couldn't even get their shoes 
blacked. The American had not slept either. I felt 
that I was to blame, for I had kept the party talking in 



Through Old Eyes 259 

the music room until quite late that evening, too late to 
secure more covering ; they could find no one at that hour 
in the office. I had no sooner seen my room than I de- 
manded more blankets, but these helpless men had never 
thought of it. The American is from San Francisco, a 
good man who is traveling for self-improvement, a 
motive which I respect and share. He told me that 
since an experience he had in Stockholm, he was shy 
about accosting ladies. At the principal hotel in that 
city he saw two charming-looking American ladies, 
and being intensely patriotic and wishing to extol his 
country to sympathetic ears he ventured to address 
them. They not only j^informed him that they were 
not in the habit of speaking to strangers, but they 
immediately took a private dining-room so as to 
avoid all possible contact with him in future. With 
me he said he felt at home, because I put on "no 
frills." 

There is a native Sultanate in Solo, and as I heard 
there were to be special festivities at the end of the great 
fast, Ramadan, I called on the Resident as soon as I ar- 
rived, to make inquiries. He says it is a mistake, that the 
Siiltan has already given a great dinner and reception 
to the native princes which took place on the 15th of 
the month. I was greatly disappointed as I desired so 
much to be present on some such occasion. There had 
been dancing also at the palace by the Sultan's daugh- 
ters. I have met at this hotel a young Dutch lady who 
is traveling around the world. She was invited to all 
these festivities and says they were gorgeous. She had 
had the sense to write and inquire of the Resident if 
there would be any celebration dtuing the great fast, 
so she got here in time, but I am as one of the fooUsh 
virgins and consequently lose much. Well, to get rid 



260 The Old World 

of me, the Resident sent me to Mr. Hoppe who is in 
the habit of escorting tourists around. We have already 
taken two drives together. Yesterday we went to see 
the pubHc gardens where there is a small museum and 
some fine animals, among them two orang-outangs, 
the most remarkable specimens I ever saw in my life. 
One is so dangerous he is chained and has besides an iron 
railing around his cage, I remained a long time feeding 
the other. They seem like gross caricatures of 
humanity. They have a great fold of skin hanging about 
their necks in front like a broad necklace, which can be 
inflated, and then by pushing out the air they can 
make a loud noise, I enjoyed my visit so much to 
the garden that I returned, and went straightway to 
see my friend, the orang-outang, again. While I was 
standing near the cage, someone near by fired off shots 
as a signal. I turned quickly to see what was the 
matter and immediately the orang-outang seized me by 
the arm with a grip of steel and was pulling me up to the 
bars of his cage in spite of all I could do, when a Dutch 
soldier came to my rescue. He said the animal could 
easily have broken my arm. The creature was grinding 
his teeth and chattering with rage. I was so excited 
I could no longer listen to Mr. Hoppe's polite explana- 
tions of things around us and came back to the hotel 
with a headache. Through Mr, Hoppe's influence I 
have received an invitation to an entertainment in the 
Kraton, or palace, on the 3d of September, the end of 
the fast, and he has bought me tickets for the theater 
also. I invited his wife to be of the party, I know 
nothing of the nature of the entertainment, but the 
actors are to be native medical students, so it will be an 
amateur affair. This climate is delightful, mosquitoes 
the only drawback. 



Through Old Eyes 261 

Solo, 
August 31, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

On Monday the young Dutch lady asked me to go to 
the pubHc gardens and to a Javanese theater there. 
Their acting is queer in one respect. The hero or 
heroine, though the latter rarely has sufficient strength 
for the feat, strikes an attitude, the more painful 
the more admirable, and remains in this posture as long 
as physical endurance permits. You would think there 
was little enough excitement in such a performance, 
but it seems to satisfy the highest aspirations of the 
actors and the public. The latter go with the intention 
of spending most of the night there, so they have the 
pleasure of seeing the thing to a finish, but we Europeans, 
as we are called here, who feel the necessity of going to 
bed, are filled with dismay when the hero gets into one of 
these striking postures with extended right hand and 
glaring eyes. All other action on the stage is subor- 
dinated to the hero's attitude, and if you are impatient 
to see the denouement which consists in his making a 
movement or letting his muscles relax, so much the 
worse for you. We saw some dancing too. This 
dancing is mostly done with their arms though they do 
lift their feet to put them into constrained and painful 
positions. They remain pretty much on one spot while 
dancing, though a very slow and stately walk, lifting 
the feet very high, is not excluded. We came away 
after having seen the end of one attitude and the begin- 
ning of another. Next night we went to the city theater 
which fortunately is near this hotel. Mr. Hoppe brought 
me the text of the play, or the opera, as he called it, and 
I spent some time studying it. Our seats were near 
those of some brothers of the Sultan and their wives. 



262 The Old World 

The ladies wore gorgeous diamond earrings and rings. 
The men all wore krises, or knives, stuck in their belts, 
behind, and in many instances the handles were decor- 
ated with diamonds. Every Javanese in full dress puts 
on his kris. The men all have long hair done up in a 
knot low down and all wear head handkerchiefs. These 
are of batik work when the wearer can afford it, and 
though very large, they look small on the head. The 
Sultan's brothers wore batik head handkerchiefs and 
straw hats on top of them. They all wear sarongs of 
batik when they can pay for them. The audience was 
as interesting as the play. The actors, who were medi- 
cal students, wore very magnificent costumes lent them 
by the government, I was told. The play was given to 
raise funds for non-sectarian schools for the Javanese 
children. This question of non-sectarian schools is the 
cause of the rise of the society called Sarekat Islam and 
is now so strong that the Dutch government is alarmed, 
A report was circulated that on a certain day last 
week all the whites in the island were to be massacred. 
These wild rumors show the importance attached to 
the strength of the society. The present governor- 
general is a very bigoted man, and his efforts to put the 
Javanese children into Christian schools has started 
this great movement of resistance among them. The 
society has also taken up the question of the ex- 
ploitation of the people by the Chinese traders, for the 
Chinese are the shop people and money-lenders of the 
islands. They have quarters in all the towns and grow 
rich rapidly. The Javanese hate them and are jealous 
of them. The play Tuesday night was very poor from 
our point of view, but it was interesting on account of 
the brilliant costumes and the strange acting. They 
began with one of those slow, curious dances. The 



Through Old Eyes 263 

play progressed very slowly owing to the fondness of all 
concerned for attitudinizing, and when we left at twelve 
o'clock, it was by no means over. Yesterday I went to 
a concert at the Club. All the officials were in full 
dress in honor of the queen's birthday. At this con- 
cert, the young Dutch lady and I met a gentleman who 
invited us to come out to the tobacco plantation where 
he is manager and take breakfast with him and his wife. 
We accordingly took the train at seven this morning 
and in half an hour arrived at the station, Gawok, 
where we found Mr. Van Houten waiting for us in his 
carriage. A pleasant drive brought us to his house 
where we found his charming young wife. Breakfast 
was waiting for us, but not at all like our home break- 
fasts. There were sardines, cheese, cold meat, cold 
soft-boiled eggs, butter, jam, and very good bread, 
also a ragout of shrimps spread over toast, both cold. 
My first cup of coffee was warm, the second cold. I 
enjoyed the breakfast very much for I was extremely 
hungry. There was a dessert and some fruit. After 
breakfast, the lady sang and played beautifully and 
then we were driven over the plantation. It is a big 
affair and the land is leased from the Sultan by a bank- 
ing company. The plants were small, but Mr. Van 
Houten says they grow very tall and the fields are 
beautiful later. We also went through the drying 
sheds and saw everything. We got back to the hotel 
in time for lunch. 

The kind American lady I met in Tosari sent me a 
description of the battle of Bagsek in Mindanao. I 
read it with deep interest as I knew several of the 
officers — General Pershing, Captain Charlton, who led 
his scouts in a final rush on the defenses, and his lieu- 
tenant, Rackley, who was wounded. The Americans 



264 The Old World 

showed splendid courage as well as generalship. The 
Moros will admire the victors just as the Sikhs in India 
became fast friends of the English when good treat- 
ment followed their thorough defeat. The Moros are 
not fanatical Mohammedans, they are fanatical fighters 
and cattle thieves, preferring to live by booty rather 
than by labor. The Mohammedans of these Dutch is- 
lands are not fanatical either like Turks and Egyptians, 
but their religious feelings have been excited by the 
efforts of the governor to get their children into Chris- 
tian schools. The change of ministry in Holland, giving 
place to a liberal government, makes people hope that 
this governor will be recalled, for all the trouble is 
attributed to his proselyting zeal. 

Septembers, 1913. 

Mr. and Mrs. Van Houten called yesterday and 
naturally I invited them both to lunch. Now the only 
strange thing about this incident is that the young 
Dutch lady (who told me on our return from our visit 
to the Van Houtens that she had been invited to spend 
some weeks with them and had accepted the invitation) 
was going to let this couple dine at their own expense. 
This seems strange as she has the reputation of being 
very rich, dresses elegantly, has fine jewelry, and 
spends money very freely on herself when we go out 
together. She asked me to let her sit at my table with 
the Van Houtens, which suited me entirely, as I am too 
deaf to talk much Dutch amid the clatter of plates. 
I should, perhaps, explain that they had arrived at the 
hotel while I was out, but not until I came back had 
they been invited to remain. Lunch indeed was ready 
when I invited them. The Dutch Resident and his 
wife called on us last night. The lady is from French 



Through Old Eyes 265 

Switzerland, extreniely pretty and graceful, but entirely 
deaf. She understands lip language. 

This morning Mr. Hoppe came to carry us to the 
Kraton. We took our stand under the covered court 
of the palace and saw the native princes arrive in their 
fine carriages with runners and footmen. They wore very 
richly embroidered cloth jackets, and tight trousers 
over which their sarongs were draped in what is here 
the princely fashion ; that is, the sarongs fall very low 
before and behind with the comers touching the ground 
and the fullness bunched about the hips. A broad 
silk scarf is tied around the waist in which two krises 
are worn. Each prince wore slippers on descending 
from the carriage, but his attendants took them off 
before he entered the Kraton. They wore tall, blue, 
rimless hats. The officials all wore the embroidered 
jackets, but not so handsome as those of the princes. 
Official rank seems to be indicated by the way the 
sarong is draped as well as by the designs on the cloth. 
Some of them wear it in a full bustle behind, so that 
the back view of such an official, with the big bustle and 
bare feet, is rather comical. All the military of the 
Sultan were present in the procession. The archers 
with their long bows and quivers on their backs wore 
gaudy uniforms, and their head handkerchiefs were, 
by means of bamboo sticks, made to resemble the wings 
of a bird. I was quite fascinated by their appearance. 
The soldiers of the different services had their sarongs 
draped differently. I was told that some of these uni- 
forms date back to 1000 a.d. We not only had Mr. 
Hoppe to accompany us, but the Sultan appointed an 
official also for that purpose. We had various drinks 
offered us — iced Apollinaris, tea, coft'ee, and sweet 
alcoholic drinks. When the Dutch Resident appeared 



266 The Old World 

in front of the Kraton in his state carriage, richly gilded 
and drawn by four horses, the procession was formed. 
Rice and cakes, which were to be distributed to the poor 
according to custom, were borne aloft in picturesque 
structures, which seemingly had tiled roofs, but these 
tiles were in reality made of sugar with holes in the 
center for fastening them on. They were very numer- 
ous. The regalia consisted of figures of elephants, 
geese, hens, and other animals in silver, each borne 
by a man. There were a great many bands of music, so 
that one was always playing, also a full native "gam- 
belan " which was quite pleasant to hear. A numerous 
company of court ladies were also in the procession. 
The court dress for ladies is the inevitable sarong 
drawn tightly from the back to the front and there 
falling in fullness to the feet, then a broad piece of 
batik is drawn tightly over the bust and under the 
arms, leaving shoulders and arms entirely bare. This 
band fits the body closely before and behind; a broad 
fancy belt and a ribbon around the neck show that they 
belong to the court. The hair is arranged in a knot 
behind and this knot is covered with a round plaque 
of gold which has a sort of horn or handle of the same 
metal curved upward from the middle of the plaque. 
We followed the procession to the grand pavilion where 
the Resident, the Sultan, princes, officials, and guests 
took their places. We were the only foreign ladies 
invited, as it was purely a man's affair. The Sultan 
wore a heavy embroidered cloth jacket covered with 
decorations. He wore the Imperial sarong, the pattern 
of which he only can wear. There were speechmaking 
and toast drinking accompanied by thunders of cannon 
and rifle shooting. After drinks had been served many 
times with great ceremony, the procession formed again 



Through Old Eyes 267 

and returned to the palace. We witnessed all this 
from a side veranda, but the court ladies from the 
procession sat on the marble floor near the Sultan and 
the Resident who each occupied a chair of state. The 
princes also sat on the floor. The Sultan has no crown 
prince as the Sultana has no son, but he is to put this 
wife aside and marry the eighteen-year-old daughter 
of the Sultan of Djokja. He has sons enough by his 
supplementary wives. The little fellows were dressed 
as Dutch officers and marched in front of those troops, 
who wore European uniforms. The contrast between 
the fine, picturesque dress of princes and officials and 
their bare feet was quite striking. We had again 
a special invitation to follow the procession back to the 
palace, and though we could not approach the Sultan's 
throne, we had comfortable seats and were served with 
hot coffee. The great pavilion with its white marble 
floor and the grounds all around offered such a scene of 
movement and variegated color, with the curious and 
interesting costumes, as I never saw equaled anywhere 
else in the world. "^^Tien the ceremonies were over we 
visited the rooms where flne table china, damask, and 
silver ornaments are kept in glass cases. The silver was 
very beautiful. 

September 8, 19 13. 

My DEAR Family: 

Saturday morning I was called down to the hotel 
office where I found the Sultan's secretary. He brought 
an invitation from the Sultan to visit two of his villas in 
his automobile next morning, yesterday. I had intended 
leaving Solo, but very naturally could not refuse 
this flattering invitation. The young Dutch lady and 
I were, indeed, highly elated. We were informed that 



268 . The Old World 

breakfast would be served us at one of the villas. A 
lady in the hotel told us that the wives of the Dutch 
officials had been quite hurt that we two strangers alone 
had received invitations to the Kraton and near the 
grand pavilion to witness the ceremonies at the men's 
morning reception. Instead of a Christian feeling of 
sympathy for these offended ladies, we were much 
gratified at the distinction. It was the Resident, to 
whom the young Dutch lady had an introduction, who 
procured these favors for us. 

Mr. Hoppe tells me that the end of the fast is not the 
Mohammedan New Year. That comes three months 
later. It rather resembles our Easter and is the rejoic- 
ing of the whole people at the end of a rigorous fast 
lasting a month, during which they eat and drink only 
at night. I forgot to mention about the procession 
that the Sultan's dwarfs took part in it also, repulsively 
hideous creatures, short and thickset with big heads ; also 
the lame, the halt, and the blind, all dependent on him, 
marched as best they could after their master. Satur- 
day evening Mr. Hoppe took us to the Kraton in a car- 
riage. The young Dutch lady wore a beautiful toilet of 
pink gauze with diamonds and an elegant embroidered 
white opera cloak. I wear Elizabeth's breastpin all the 
time, my only ornament. I believe it has given me the 
reputation of being very wealthy. The pavilion of 
the Kraton is very handsome, with white marble floor 
and open all around. When the Sultan appeared, 
Mr. Hoppe offered an arm to each of us and we led 
the procession to shake hands with his majesty. When 
he saw us he said: "These are the ladies who go to my 
villas to-morrow. " We had seats given us in the inner 
circle. After coffee and tea were handed, we were 
asked to choose any other drinks we liked. Mr. Hoppe 



Through Old Eyes 269 

chose for us, iced ApoUinaris with white wine. We 
waited to drink till the Sultan lifted his glass and bowed 
to his guests, then we bowed to him and drank his 
health. Mr. Hoppe enjoyed himself. He took his 
favorite drink several times, and smoked the Sultan's 
fine cigars. Soon the imperial dancers came in, three 
daughters of the Sultan and six princes of the blood, 
dressed alike. They came in very slowly to the sound 
of music, preceded by women servants who walked 
crouched in a sitting posture. They are so accustomed 
to this species of locomotion that they get along with- 
out difficulty, but it makes them look deformed. The 
princesses were very pretty to my eyes, now accustomed 
to color, and very graceful. They wore on their heads 
crowns made of gilded leather. I saw this work in 
Djokja, and it is very costly, handmade from start to 
finish, and painted in miniatures. Heavily gilded in 
pretty patterns, it rhakes a pretty crown. Each wore a 
gilded butterfly on her hair behind. They were richly 
dressed in the national costume with arms and shoulders 
bare. The sarongs had long comers dragging behind 
which the dancers kicked out of the way with their little 
bare feet. It was all posture dancing and the most con- 
strained postures are sought. They wore a great deal of 
jewelry. It was altogether a most exotic performance 
but entirely modest, full of dignity, and fascinating 
because it was so Oriental. This dance lasted about an 
hour. Whenever the Sultan was engaged in conver- 
sation with a gentleman on the other side, I stole a 
glance at him through my opera-glasses. He is paler 
in color than his subjects and has superb eyes. As 
a Mohammedan, his head was covered with the head 
handkerchief draped tastefully to frame in his face, with 
diamonds on either side. He has a striking face and 



270 The Old World 

would be handsome but is rather too fat. The Sultana 
did not show herself ; she is to lose her high rank and 
must be very sad. There were several ladies of rank 
present who wore many diamonds. The young Dutch 
lady could talk to the one near us. I forgot to say that 
on our arrival, we were met by the secretary whose 
court dress quite overpowered me at first. He wore a 
bustle of ample folds flapping with every movement; 
the sarong tucked up high behind, no doubt served to 
form this bustle. His two krises had highly ornamented 
hilts. His sarong was full and long in front, the 
corners touching the ground, but he wore not a shred of 
clothing on his upper body. This costume was com- 
pleted by a tall, thin, glazed cap set on top of his head 
handkerchief. So much clothing below and so little 
above, for he wore tight trousers also, gave him a very 
remarkable appearance. Mr. Hoppe says no one below a 
prince of the blood can have the upper part of the body 
covered in the Kraton, so the secretary was in full court 
dress. We had various bands of music, some of them 
composed of curious native instruments. After the 
dance, there came with great clanging and shouting two 
duelists to fight with their krises. They were of royal 
blood and very fantastically attired. They fought 
long and well, and it was very interesting because they 
were very close to me. When this was over we all 
marched in front of the Sultan to say good-night, and he 
said to us in Dutch: "To-morrow." We were greatly 
honored. The Sultan has quite an imperial look. 
After the reception we went to the Club to see dancing 
and met the Resident and his pretty wife there. I did 
not get to bed until after one o'clock and could not 
sleep. I had to be ready for the auto at seven next 
morning and hardly got a half-hour's sleep. Under 




SULTAN AND SULTANA OF SOLO 



Through Old Eyes 271 

these close mosquito curtains is very different from the 
wind-swept deck of the steamer. I could always sleep 
there and felt perfectly well. We took coffee before 
starting and had a glorious drive of an hour and a half 
before arriving at Paras, the first villa, situated on a 
commanding terrace overlooking the valley as far as 
Solo. We had beautiful views of twin mountains as we 
approached Paras ; one is an active volcano called Mer- 
api (api is ' ' fire ' ' in Malay and mer is ' ' mountain " ) . Its 
twin sister is called Merbaboo. The active volcano was 
sending out a long streamer of smoke. We went all over 
the villa at Paras, looked at the Sultan's family pictures, 
went also over grounds and gardens, both the vegetable 
and the rose gardens, saw many strange flowers, and a 
Mississippi cape jasmine, which bears in other countries 
the pretty name of gardenia. We saw odd fruit trees 
with a profusion of fruit hanging from the trunk and 
not from the branches. It was not ripe, to my regret. 
Enormous nutmeg trees loaded with the bursting fruit, 
the glowing red mace visible. This fruit looks like 
pretty nectarines, then the glossy leafed cocoa trees 
with the pretty pods containing the nuts just ripening 
and many other big fruit trees, among them mangoes. 
All kinds of iced drinks were offered us, but it was so cold 
near the mountains that I was not thirsty. Indeed, I 
wore a mantle. We did not have the secretary to 
attend us but another high official. After a second 
lovely drive, we reached the other villa, Pengging. 
There are many fine springs here, which give quantities 
of pure water to feed the ponds, swimming pools, and 
reservoirs. We were taken into the private swimming 
bath of the Sultan, on the door of which was written: 
"No Entrance." We looked at boys scrambling for 
pennies which we threw in the water, went through the 



272 The Old World 

garden, plucked flowers and fruits and, at last, on the 
front veranda, before a marble-topped table, four 
attendants approached with four trays on which were 
the four breakfasts for our party. It was about the 
oddest breakfast I ever ate in my life and was strictly 
Javanese in character. Each of us ordered our drinks. 
I took German beer. Mr. Hoppe having found a good 
thing in Apollinaris and white wine stuck to that, 
likewise the young Dutch lady. The official took 
lemonade ; good Mohammedans drink nothing stronger, 
but in Java they are not very strict as a rule. I ate a 
vegetable prepared from the flowers of cocoanuts stewed 
in chicken broth. I ate also what I should call broiled 
chicken. Instead of bread we had slices of boiled rice. 
It is boiled a long time in bags made of cocoanut leaves. 
When cold, it is sliced. There was a salad of chili 
peppers mixed with unknown ingredients which I found 
appetizing. There was meat prepared in a strange way 
which I did not taste, also pounded, toasted peanuts. 
The beer and hot salad gave me an appetite. I liked 
the cocoanut blossom vegetable. In the midst of our 
meal, the Sultan rang up his functionary to know how 
we were getting along. If that gentleman had had a 
spark of humor, he could have made his master laugh 
by telling him of the old American woman's enthusiasm 
over the Javanese breakfast. The German beer made 
me quite lively. We got back at one o'clock, and the 
young lady went in to lunch, but I came up to bed and to 
sleep. That afternoon the Sultan sent us each beautiful 
photographs of the Sultana and himself. We were 
delighted with these attentions and after the official 
had left, the young Dutch lady suggested various 
presents I should make the Sultan. I asked: "And 
what will you send him?" She answered with perfect 



Through Old Eyes 273 

sincerity : "I shall pay a visit to his children who are at 
school in Harlem. Harlem is not far from The Hague, 
where I live," She had already told me to make a 
present to Mr. Hoppe, and asked me yesterday if I had 
done so. I said: "His bill was six gulden and I gave 
him ten. What have you given him?" " Oh, nothing 
as yet, but I intend to send him some cigars." This 
being a fine place to buy cigars, she could not do better, 
if she really wishes to give him anything, than to buy 
them here and see that he gets them. She spends 
money so lavishly on herself that perhaps after all she 
is really not able to do anything for other people. 

I think the King of Cambodia's dancers are more 
interesting than the Japanese. I am speaking of the 
female dancers. The men dancers of this country are 
better and their costumes are extremely picturesque, 
but those of the Cambodian girls are very fascinating, 
and their dances are rhore animated, not so monotonous 
as these. 

Yesterday I called at the Resident's to say good- 
bye. They showed me their elegant reception rooms, 
in the largest of which on a dais were three thrones, the 
largest for the governor-general, the one on either 
side for the Resident and the Sultan. Just outside of 
their veranda is a marvelous banyan tree. While we 
were standing under it, Madame Van Wijk called a ser- 
vant to bring her white cockatoo, the tamest and most 
beautiful creature I ever saw. She says it flies in the 
garden all day, is never chained or caged, and nestles up 
to her showing great fondness for its mistress. She 
made an exquisite picture petting this gentle, lovable 
bird. She is beautiful herself. 
18 



274 The Old World 

Batavia, Java, 
September 14, 191 3. 

My dear Family: 

I left Solo last Monday. I had to spend the night en 
route, for trains do not run at night in Java. As I got 
in the car at Solo, I heard voices calling me. It was the 
two American girls, Miss R. and Miss M. We spent 
the night together in Djokja, but I left before six next 
morning for a twelve hours' trip to Batavia. When I 
reached here, I found that good Mr. Rairden waiting 
for me with a carriage at the station. I had never 
thought of his meeting me or I never should have 
named the day. He, it seems, telephoned Mr. Van 
Rossem at the last moment that I was coming, and that 
young man felt forced to take an automobile in order to 
catch the train, which he could not do, but overtook us 
afterwards. I hate dreadfully to cause inconvenience 
and expense to other people, and I shall guard against it 
better in future. 

Well, I have had a handsome dress made, and I never 
had less trouble. I went to the best shop and had it 
made by the French dressmaker of the establishment. 
It fits well, and I was so pleased with it that I embraced 
the kind Frenchwoman with enthusiasm, telling her one 
hug was for her and one for her country. Getting 
this dress fitted on me and going to the shipping offices 
have taken up all my time. I have not read the papers 
nor studied any Dutch. I saw yesterday that great 
preparations were being made in this house for a birth- 
day celebration. The Dutch, like the Germans, lay great 
stress on anniversaries, so having understood that it 
was for the little granddaughter, I got a big illustrated 
edition of Mother Goose. When I carried it to Mrs. 
Van Rossem she said: "It is not my grandchild's birth- 



Through Old Eyes 275 

day, but my niece's." "Well," I replied, ''I got 
the book for your grandchild, and she must have it. " 
I thought it strange that so much trouble should be 
taken for a niece, a term which means in Dutch all your 
cousins to the most remote degree, for the language has 
no other word to express cousin. Everybody is nephew 
or niece. They have uncle and aunt, of course. I 
thought I found the utmost confusion on this subject 
in the minds of every Dutch person with whom I got 
acquainted, so much do they need clear terms to 
express relationships. I said to Mr. Van Rossem yester- 
day : " It seems strange to me you take so much trouble 
for a niece. What kin is this 'niece' to you?" "It is 
my mother's birthday," he answered. He is so per- 
fectly devoted to his mother that he is always near her 
when he is in the house. A good many guests were 
invited to dinner last night; champagne, red and white 
wines were all served, but it was more of a supper than a 
dinner. The niece who has the same birthday as Mrs. 
Van Rossem is a pretty girl of twelve. Last night 
just before the nine o'clock supper, a telephone message 
came from the son-in-law announcing the birth of a 
daughter, so the celebration was a three-fold one. 
When I go shopping, I take either a carriage or a street 
car, but once there I walk from shop to shop. This is so 
unusual for Dutch ladies that it is always remarked, and 
every time I am seen by a member of this household 
my strange conduct is reported at the table. In Nor- 
folk, Virginia, the people complained that I walked in 
the street instead of on the sidewalk. Here they 
complain if I walk at all. 

We had a very gay supper party last night, but a 
theological student bored me nearly to death by claim- 
ing my exclusive attention while he poured out doctrines 



276 The Old World 

and sentiments entirely in unison, as far as they went, 
with the beliefs of the Scotch Covenanters three centu- 
ries ago. He either wanted to convert me or to exercise 
his English. The dining-room is very large and opens 
without partition on a veranda overlooking the garden, 
which is filled with shade trees and flowers. It is 
charming to sit with all this luxuriance of tropical 
vegetation before one's eyes while at table. There is a 
garden in front, too, and the avenues bordering the 
great Konigsplein are just across the street — a lovely sit- 
uation. Last Tuesday I dined with the Rairdens. They 
gave me the most delicious home dinner, tender young 
chickens, fish just out of the water. Unfortunately I 
had told them that the heat of Batavia had taken away 
my appetite. They will never believe my word again. 
I wonder if Laura would like my new dress, and Dick 
who said: "If Aunt Mary paid more attention to dress, 
she would not need letters of introduction." Well, I 
shall report later if this dress serves in lieu of intro- 
ductions, but if any of you can send such, don't let 
the dress serve as a deterrent. 



Fort der Kock, Sumatra Highlands, 
September 22, 191 3. 

My DEAR Family: 

I left Batavia a week ago to-day. Sunday afternoon 
before leaving, the young man I thought a divinity 
student brought a fine turnout and took me for a drive. 
He is a mining engineer; his being a Boer accounts 
for his fanaticism. The drive would have been charm- 
ing but for the dust, for it is the dry season in Batavia, 
and the motor cars keep the dust flying. However, 
I saw parts of the city I had not seen before and the 



Through Old Eyes 2^]^ 

young man did not talk religion as at the birthday 
supper. Mr. Rairden and his wife called later and 
made themselves most agreeable. I left the ship at 
one landing place only before reaching Padang, at 
Bencoolan, because it was the seat of the English 
merchants during the wars between the Dutch and 
English for the possession of the trade of these is- 
lands. Bencoolan lies on the southwest coast of 
Sumatra. The captain told me it would cost me a dol- 
lar to land and return to the ship. The landing often is 
dangerous and the ship has no launch, as our steamer 
had among the Spice Islands. I found Bencoolan 
a neat and pretty place, everything so green and fresh, 
but only its historic associations give it interest. I made 
no acquaintances on the ship though I talked to my 
neighbors at table who were glad to speak English. 
Although the Dutch love to speak English, I find it 
very convenient to know something of their language. 
Padang is a beautiful place with shady avenues. There 
are no defined wet and dry seasons in Sumatra as in 
Java. Here it rains in some seasons every day, at 
other times not so often. We are now in the very wet 
season, but the freshness of the, air, the freedom from 
dust, and the luxuriant vegetation compensate for the 
inconvenience. Under my veranda in the Padang hotel 
there was a row of trees, the tops of which were covered 
with newly unfolded leaves in big bunches. These had 
very bright tints in yellow and pale green. Under some 
lights they looked as though covered with a veil of 
gauze of shaded yellow and delicate green, but at other 
times they looked like huge bouquets. In the tropics 
the young leaves, whether big or little, are often of 
varied tints taking the place of flowers, but I have also 
seen many flowering trees in this country and beautiful 



278 The Old World 

ones. At Padang I visited the monkey mountain, fed 
the monkeys, and saw the fine views. I left most of my 
luggage in the hotel, as I must return there to take the 
ship. The route up here was exceedingly lovely, though 
I lost much of the scenery by talking to a fellow traveler 
about what places I should visit in Sumatra. I had 
been persuaded by a passenger on the ship to give up the 
trip through northern Sumatra, the Atjeh country, the 
people with whom the Dutch have waged so many wars, 
but this man persuaded me not to omit it. The real 
reason why I was so easily dissuaded from taking it was 
that I hate to be separated from my letters for so long, 
but if you are all very considerate, I shall find a lot of 
mail waiting for me in Penang. 

Fort derKock is in the Highlands surrounded by 
mountains. The afternoon I got here, I took a walk 
with a boy to guide me to see a grand natural panorama 
where the waters have formed a broad canyon. At 
certain points from the high bank, one sees the winding 
stream, the high enclosing walls, and the patches of 
green fields far down below. I also saw some immensely 
deep and big holes in the ground called buffalo pits. It 
gave me a fearful feeling to look down into one of them. 
They reminded me of those dreadful prisons of the poor 
Athenians near Syracuse in Sicily, but these buffalo 
pits look far deeper ; they are green too, for in this rainy 
climate nature covers everything with verdure. I 
wound up my walk at a park which commands far- 
reaching views over valley and mountain, over native 
houses and streets swarming with people coming and 
going, the women in bright colors wearing cloths on 
their heads in the form of turbans, the loose ends hang- 
ing down behind, on top of which they carry their bur- 
dens. I did not see any Sumatra women with their 



Through Old Eyes 279 

busts bare and the babies swung under so that they 
could feed at will as I saw everywhere in Java, neither 
have I seen any women closely veiled either in Sumatra 
or in Java, and yet they are Mohammedan. Yester- 
day I went to a big market or fair at Pajakombo. 
Everything seems to be sold there: furniture, cattle, 
horses, merchandise, spread out under the enormous 
Waringen trees, as beautiful trees as I ever saw and far 
spreading. Rubber can be made of the sap, but they 
are the shade trees of the squares and parks, forming 
avenues of wonderful beauty. After the market I took 
a long drive to a ravine which, though fine, does not 
compare to similar ravines in Switzerland. The water- 
fall is very thin, though by its great height it forms a 
veil of mist over the steep rocky wall. The day was 
too long. I got back tired at six o'clock. This morn- 
ing I went to see the Resident to ask permission to put 
up at the rest house in Matoor, where I am going to- 
morrow. I shall walk there, starting at five in the morn- 
ing, with a guide to carry my luggage. I think the 
walk will do me good. I feel the need of climbing after 
my long stay in those flat cities. The Resident tele- 
phoned to the rest house and found that there were 
already eight travelers occupying it. As it is intended 
for four at most, he refused to permit me to go there, 
but I have just received a note from him saying he has 
found a lodging for me at one of the principal native 
houses. The Resident has put himself to much trouble 
for me. When I first saw him this morning, he greeted 
me with "good-bye," which somehow had a discourag- 
ing sound. Mr. Rairden told me his Dutch visitors 
often began by saying "good-bye." The young man 
who persuaded me to visit the Atjeh country advised 
me to write to the military governor at Koeta Rajah 



280 The Old World 

and ask if he thought a trip through that country practi- 
cable for me. I have done so, but cannot get an answer 
till the ship arrives at Olehleh, the port of Koeta Rajah. 
I trust the governor may take enough interest in me to 
give me good advice. Some people say it is a danger- 
ous country to travel in, others say the Dutch have the 
Achinese well in hand. They are more fanatical than 
in other parts of Sumatra. 

To go back to Batavia. Mrs. Van Rossem, who 
always rises late in the morning because she is on her 
feet all day and goes late to bed, got up to see me off, 
as well as her daughter who had been up very late. 
Well, after all this sacrifice on my account, I went off 
without saying good-bye. The young engineer gave me 
a religious book on parting. He has the zeal of a crus- 
ader, and his views are not much more advanced. The 
book looks pretty, and I shall give it to some good 
missionary friend who may like that kind of literature. 
I have my religion and I hope it is earnest, but it is not 
of the type of my young Boer friend. I showed the book 
to Mr. Van Rossem, and he said that between the ages of 
sixteen and twenty, he was even more fanatical and 
engrossed in theology, that he kept writing to his 
parents about "coming to Christ," (I am qiioting his 
words), till they wrote him to come instantly to Johann- 
esburg, and they got him off to Holland to save his mind. 
I have written to my dear Mrs. Van Rossem an humble 
apology for not telling them good-bye. 

Fort van der Capellen Hotel, Sumatra, 
September 30, 191 3, 

Dear Family: 

Early last Tuesday, I started for a very long walk to 
Matoor, with a cooUe to carry my luggage. I had to 



Through Old Eyes 281 

cross two streams — one in a buffalo cart and one on the 
back of a native. It was an interesting excursion, but 
the coolie was too young and groaned over the weight 
of my luggage. I paid him a very liberal fee to compen- 
sate him. I was received in Matoor in the house of the 
"Twankoolaris," or native regent of the district. These 
native regents are men of importance. They are 
appointed by the Dutch government which, however, 
generally allows the people to select them. Some- 
times the title is hereditary, especially if the son is 
fitted for the position. The house of the regent looked 
very pleasant from the street, but it was too dark for me 
inside. The roof projects far over the veranda to 
shelter the double steps leading up to it. All native 
houses are built high above the ground. The company 
room, which I occupied, was partly separated from the 
dining-room by a screen. I was an object of great 
curiosity to the children of the house, to the servants 
and dependents. The village schoolmaster was sent 
for to translate, for none of the family could speak 
Dutch. He spoke it poorly, but it was a great help. 
He came often to see me and, though ill-informed, was 
interesting. He told me, the day of my arrival, there 
was a native festival going on at a distance of some 
three miles and that the wife of the Twankoolaris was 
going with her children. I was not very tired in spite 
of my long walk, but I lay down to rest after lunch and 
to freshen up. The lunch was chicken soup, rice, and 
eggs, and hashed meat. We all started on foot to the 
festival. We met most of the people returning to their 
homes, but on our arrival the master of ceremonies 
brought out an arm-chair for me, cleared the space in 
front, and arranged a dance with fourteen young men 
who formed a ring and danced posture dances with a good 



282 The Old World 

deal of spirit. When this was over, the young men came 
out in couples, approached each other warily with all 
their skill in postures and contortions and then suddenly 
flew at each other and began to kick violently. The 
soles of the feet were caught, however, by the adversary 
in the palm of his hand, so that there was a loud 
resounding noise, but no harm done. All this was car- 
ried on so quickly and skilfully that it was pleasing, even 
graceful, especially when, at the close, each greeted the 
master of ceremonies. Some of these duels were with 
krisses which looked very dangerous, but no harm 
resulted. The women spectators wore a great deal of 
jewelry. My hostess wore as pendants to her golden 
necklace eight gold coins of ten florins each. They wear 
sarongs with short white jackets, to which is added a 
long, thin overcoat when they go out. There were 
amusements for the boys, such as climbing poles, etc. 
On our way back to Matoor, a carriage met us into 
which we all crowded and ate a native fruit of delicious 
taste but of little substance resembling somewhat 
our scuppernong grapes in the south. My evening 
meal was a repetition of the lunch — ^no bread, no butter, 
no coffee, nor tea deserving the name, and no milk. 
Next morning with a boy to guide me, I started for a long 
walk to a famous point of view. There is a great lake 
over fifty miles long in this part of Sumatra. The ocean 
dotted with islands is also in sight, together with a 
panorama of hills and vales, but when I arrived the fog 
had closed in as dense and impenetrable as a wall. 
Instead of resting on the hill where there was a bench, 
I got uneasy about the boy, who coughed and had 
nothing to put around him. I had a wrap for myself 
and wished to stay, in the hope that the fog might lift, 
but not speaking Malay, I could not tell the boy to 



Through Old Eyes 283 

leave me, so I went back to Matoor and for the first 
time felt very, very tired. The accumulated fatigue 
was too much for me, so I went to bed. Indeed, there 
was nothing else to do. It was too dark to read in my 
room and the rain poured all the time. The meals 
were always the same, no seasoning in the soup. I 
missed my coffee in the morning and my tea in the 
afternoon, for I could not drink the tea given me. I 
found that the regent had two wives ; the two little girls 
were not those of my hostess, their mother living in 
a neighboring house. My hostess was evidently the 
favorite wife. She had four children, and the great big 
Twankoolaris could be seen, whenever he had leisure, 
carrying the two-year-old child about the streets, a very 
tender father. He had a very intelligent face, but only 
spoke Malay. Whenever the village schoolmaster came, 
I left my bed to talk to him and through him to my host. 
I visited the school, which was clean and airy. The 
Dutch do a great deal for the natives here as in Java, 
especially in putting up good schoolhouses, but they do 
not teach Dutch in any school that I have seen in 
Sumatra. I was told while in Java that only within 
the last ten years had the government begun to teach 
Dutch in the Java schools. They told me also that the 
native children were very intelligent, that with a Euro- 
pean language, the people would in time be as advanced 
as any people in the world. They will have to give up 
their Mohammedan religion if they make this progress, 
for they cannot do it under the rule of the Koran. The 
schoolmaster at Matoor showed me his youngest daugh- 
ter when I visited the school. The child was really 
beautiful, very fine and glossy black hair, with a pale 
yellow complexion. I am beginning to like color when 
it is not too dark. He was much pleased at my admir- 



284 The Old World 

ation of his little daughter. He said in Sumatra the 
women outnumbered the men and their "adat" per- 
mitted four wives, but usually only two were taken. 
The want of coffee, tea, and bread, and the monotony of 
the food could not be endured longer than two days, 
so I asked the schoolmaster what a carriage would cost 
to Fort der Kock. When he said three florins for the 
sixteen miles I was amazed, for my guide-book had 
spoken of from i6 to 20 florins. It must have been 
gotten up years ago, before the government made good 
roads, and if ever such prices were paid that day is long 
since passed. I thought I had saved by my walk eight 
dollars in gold, whereas I had saved nothing. I was 
glad to get back to the hotel. The regent, his family, 
and the schoolmaster took an affectionate farewell of me. 
The schoolmaster begged me not to pay my driver more 
than three florins. He seemed to take great interest in 
me, perhaps because he learned so many astonishing 
things in the course of our conversations. He was truly 
astounded when I assured him that in a population of 
100,000,000 there were no Mohammedans in the 
United States. He asked what language we spoke and 
of what color we were. I could have gone on astonish- 
ing him, but I preferred to make him talk. He said the 
Sumatra people were entirely satisfied with the Dutch 
government. Perhaps this is true in central and south 
Sumatra, but I am not sure about the Achinese popu- 
lation of the north coast. I believe a kind of guerrilla 
warfare is kept up in those regions, but as I am going 
there I shall soon know. The newspapers speak of 
bands of malefactors coming into collision with the 
mounted police or the soldiers. The word " war " is not 
mentioned, but Dutch travelers tell me that the Atjeh 
country is unsafe. My host and hostess at Fort der 



Through Old Eyes 285 

Kock welcomed me most kindly, and I enjoyed sitting 
down to a good meal. Alligator pears flourish here, 
and I might learn to like them in time. On leaving Fort 
der Kock, I stopped first at a little place called Basso, 
where I left the railroad. The station master could 
only speak Malay, but a Dutchman to whom I spoke, 
took charge of me and gave me the best advice as to 
how to reach Fort van der Capellen. Between Basso 
and this place, there is a rest house. This kind-hearted 
gentleman engaged a carriage and driver for me, which 
were to bring me to the rest house. There I was to look 
at the accommodations, and if I did not like them he 
would drive me on to the Fort. He gave all necessary 
instructions to the driver. While waiting for the car- 
riage, we had a long conversation in Dutch and parted 
with mutual protestations of the kindest feelings. He 
told me, in fact, such an affecting story of his sister, who 
is now living with him, that I cannot think of it without 
a sob in my throat. When I reached the rest house, 
I was so pleased with it that I decided at once to stay all 
night. Everything about it is so beautiful, cool, and 
clean. The caretaker was very attentive and arranged 
a bath for me immediately. He spoke no Dutch, but 
the kind gentleman had written out the Malay phrases 
I should need, which I read aloud to him. Everything 
was good but the tea, which was flavored with rose 
water, a seasoning I detest. I had a delightful night's 
rest, the caretaker sleeping in the passage outside my 
door ; I felt safe and very comfortable ; there were no 
mosquitoes. I had expected to walk the rest of the 
way, but I had not got over my fatigue, so I hired 
a buff alo cart. The buffalo was an enormous bull and 
kept his tail so active that I had to be on the alert. It 
was a gay ride, the driver laughing and talking to me. 



286 The Old World 

though I could not understand a word. The way led 
through coffee plantations, and some of the trees were 
in bloom, the flowers just like white jasmine, growing 
in thick clusters along the branches and very sweet. 
These Sumatra roads are very beautiful. The vegetation 
is so luxuriant, with mountains in view and no dust, 
while one can count generally on having the early 
morning without rain. It often pours during the night 
and in the afternoon. 

Fort van der Capellen lies beautifully but somewhat 
lower than the rest house. There is a Waringen tree 
here, which is, I believe, the most beautiful in all India, 
and I have seen very wonderful ones elsewhere. Its 
trunk is formed of a huge mass of columns, and the 
enormous crown gives far-spreading shade. It looks 
like a work of nature and art combined. My host is a 
German, so our conversation is an odd mixture. He 
has a Javanese wife, a Catholic like himself, who speaks 
only Malay. Their children are off at school. The 
wife and I get on very well together. She says what 
she feels impelled to say and I likewise, and she seems 
to like me. I asked about festivals, and learning that a 
big one would take place on Sunday, I asked the host 
to engage a carriage to take me there. He went also 
with the postmaster. On arriving I was introduced to 
all the native dignitaries and then seated on a veranda. 
The Twankoolaris of this district, who has some 28,000 
natives under his jurisdiction, was seated near me. 
There were also a native judge, a mayor, and a phy- 
sician, besides several other men of importance. The 
band was brought up on the veranda to play me a 
welcome. I seemed to be the guest of honor. The 
band was composed of two violins and two flutes of the 
most primitive description. There was a clown, also, 



Through Old Eyes 287 

dressed entirely in red, and a functionary wearing the 
very ancient costume of Sumatra. The rank of an 
official is indicated by his turban. The music was 
monotonous, but being addressed to me I was flattered, 
and it was varied by a descriptive song with ges- 
tures representing the catching of fish, cutting them 
open, and packing them to ship. Whenever the sing- 
ers would cry out very loud and seem excited, I 
would ask the host what it meant. "Some of the 
fish have jumped out of the boat into the water, " or 
"there are not enough hands for the work, others 
are called in. " The natives seemed intensely satisfied 
with this musical effort. When this was over we 
went down to see the dancing. It was a repetition of 
that near Matoor, with a few new features added : danc- 
ing with tambourines, dueling with long, sharp knives, 
also the kicking duel. A curious dance was the Death 
dance. A long drum was put on a matting covered with 
a dark cloth. A man began chanting, while another 
representing Death, followed him closely step by step. 
When he approached the dark-covered object, his 
enemy was always there before him with a long knife. 
Death had a very white face and wore a long thin and 
beautiful batik veil, which I should like to possess. He 
acted the part very well, dressed as a woman, but the 
crowd was more interesting than the show. The 
women wore the heirloom jewelry of their families and 
the Twankoolaris assured me it was of genuine gold, 
descending for generations from mother to daughter. 

I am now in the land where the most ancient and 
curious of the Malay race reside. There are about forty 
clans of them, each claiming descent from a common 
ancestress in the female line. Only the females inherit 
the land. They, on their marriage, do not leave the 



288 The Old World 

maternal home. The husband comes to them without 
belonging to his wife's clan or family. What he and 
she earn together goes half to their children, the other 
half to his sisters and brothers or to the children of his 
sisters, property descending in the female line. I am 
in the land where the matriarchate prevails. The 
women have far more importance here than among 
any other Mohammedans. These people are governed 
according to their "adat, " consisting of their time- 
honored customs and usages. Many of the women at 
this festival wore on their heads a perfect forest of 
miniature golden trees. At the back of the head was a 
plaque with pendants. Their earrings were sometimes 
as big as toy wheels. They also wore rings with very 
antique, high settings, and gold bracelets ornamented 
with stones or briUiants. Around their necks hung 
numerous necklaces formed of squares, stars, or round 
pieces of thin gold, more than, an inch in diameter, 
besides gold chains, coins, etc. Their sarongs were, in 
many instances, beautiful, and I was told they were 
woven in their own homes. I could hardly believe it, 
however; they were so fine with gold threads woven in. 
When the dancing was over, the notabilities informed 
my host that the people wished me to decide which 
young lady wore the most beautiful ornaments, for there 
was a prize to be awarded her. I felt the whole impor- 
tance and responsibility of the task. I had to walk the 
long line of young women all sitting under their minia- 
ture gold forests and loaded with ornaments. The 
men followed and watched me, and every word I said 
was translated to them. I picked out only three of the 
ladies who I thought excelled the others, but the chief 
man had heard some compliments I paid to two half- 
grown girls purely on account of their youth and these 



Through Old Eyes 289 

two were included in the number who were made to take 
seats in front of me for the final decision. The crowd 
was breathless and pressing around us. I felt that it 
would be invidious for me to choose between these 
beauties, so I made them draw straws for the prize, and 
to my disgust one of the youngest girls got it, one whom 
I should never have chosen, but I hope chance was more 
judicious than I. She was given a piece of paper which 
I think was a check ; the other four were given handker- 
chiefs. A procession was then formed of the young 
men dancers, the school children, the teachers, and the 
five beauties. They marched to the beating of drums 
and the music of flutes and violins. After this the five 
were again drawn up in front of me to give me thanks. 
Feeling that they had nothing to thank me for, I shook 
each by the hand and said some cordial words in Dutch, 
which they understood not, but the tones seemed to 
touch one, at least, for she held my hand pressed a 
moment. I hope the taking part in the procession was 
gratifying to them. When all was over and we took 
our leave, it was three o'clock. The Twankoolaris, 
having heard that I liked sugar cane, had four big stalks 
put in my carriage. On the drive back, I saw some very 
ancient stones rudely engraved on one side. They 
were erected by the immediate descendants of the first 
Malay invaders about the year 1200 a.d. 

October i, 1913. 

Yesterday evening a children's dance was got up in 
my honor by the native judge, and it pleased me very 
much. The musical greeting of the children was very 
graceful and flattering. Several of them were put in a 
double row, the smallest in front. All sang together, at 
first accompanied by a violin, then the smallest little 



290 The Old World 

girl stepped forward and began a solo keeping step to 
the music in a slow dance. The child's gestures were so 
graceful and she bowed so prettily towards me that I was 
completely captivated. Each of the little girls in turn 
came forward and, dancing, sang me a welcome. I 
think I never saw a more pleasing ceremony, and it 
doesn't make much difference whether the children 
sing well or not. Graceful dancing and gestures with 
clearly spoken words of welcome are sufficient. After 
this there was a great deal more dancing like that of 
Europeans, not Oriental. The end was a musical leave- 
taking of me. My host treated them to what we call 
sweet crackers, and the judge's wife gave them sweet 
drinks. The fare in this hotel is wretched, with the 
poorest coffee I have ever seen in this land of fine coffee, 
served with American canned, skimmed milk. Even 
the cocoanut oil they cook with is rancid in this land 
of cocoanuts. 

The Dutch administration calls all half-caste chil- 
dren Dutch and makes no distinction between them and 
Hollanders. The Sumatrans are a proud race. They 
have nothing servile about them. One sees that their 
chieftains were not tyrants. In Java, the Sultans at 
Djokja and Solo still keep up the foot-kissing ceremony, 
and their subjects approach them on their knees. 
One remarks the difference in the bearing of the 
Sumatrans. 

SiGLi, Sumatra, 
October lo, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

It is hard for me to go back and speak of the past 
when the present is so engrossing, but if I began with 
this morning, it would require too many explanations. 



Through Old Eyes 291 

I wrote last from Fort van der Capellen. The day 
before I left I called on the wife of the controller, and 
she came to return my visit the same afternoon, but I 
had gone to a steep hill near the little town and was 
walking up and down it because I like climbing and it 
does me good. She came out to where I was and was 
amazed at my movements. I told her afterwards she 
was not the only person I had astounded and con- 
founded. Some boys had followed me and vainly tried to 
make out my intentions, but haply they had been called 
away. I returned with her to her home, a luxurious 
dwelling. The government furnishes such to its higher 
employees. Seeing a piano in the drawing-room, I 
asked her if she would play for me. She answered : * ' Cer- 
tainly, ' ' and inquired what I wished to hear. I regarded 
this as a mere form of words, but when she sat down 
without music and played from all the greatest Ger- 
man composers as well as those of other nations, I asked 
amazed : * ' Were you not a concert performer before your 
marriage?" She answered: "Yes." It was such a 
treat that I could have listened indefinitely, but she 
wished to talk to me. We spoke Dutch as she does not 
understand English. How much pleasure a knowledge 
of Dutch has given me, and how well worth the trouble 
of learning it ! I find also that it is reckoned as a great 
virtue in me by the Hollanders here, that I should have 
given myself the trouble, and a serious one it was, to 
learn Dutch. I tell them that I feel now for the first 
time that I understand the soul of the Dutch people, 
now that I can read in the daily press what they are 
thinking and doing. The controller's wife gave me 
some beautiful photos, also some home made rolls for 
my lunch next day; and making me promise to write 
to her, we embraced tenderly at parting. How sorry 



292 The Old World 

I was that I had not called sooner. I spent all next 
day on my way to Padang to take the ship. The sea 
trip lasted two days and I was sick all the time till we 
landed at Olehleh. I had written to the military gov- 
ernor of Koeta Rajah to say I should be obliged to call 
on him for advice as to my trip through the Atjeh 
country. The governor, in reply, sent Colonel Goldman 
to meet me at the landing, but as I left the ship before 
he arrived, I missed him, but I found my way perfectly 
to the hotel where I was expected. That afternoon, 
Colonel Goldman called and told me the governor had 
detailed him to show me the place, and that he would 
begin next morning at nine. He arrived punctually 
at nine next day, but we talked till one o'clock. He 
speaks English remarkably well. The result was that 
my sight-seeing was put off still another day, but we 
started very early the following morning, visiting the 
markets where the strange fruits and vegetables and the 
odd-looking natives interested me. We also visited a 
mosque erected by the Dutch and given to the Achinese 
to replace the one which had been destroyed in a desper- 
ate battle in 1873. There is a tree near this mosque 
called the Kohler tree because a Dutch general of that 
name was killed under it during that fight. We then 
took a fine automobile, belonging to one of Colonel Gold- 
man's friends, and went down to Olehleh, first to a girls' 
school, Achinese. As we were expected in the school, 
the girls had on their best clothes, light black trousers 
with gold embroidery at the ankle, jackets, and gay little 
silk scarfs. This is also the best dress of the women, 
only they drape a sarong over the trousers. The girls 
wore a great deal of heirloom jewelry ; the necklaces were 
really very pretty. I wanted to buy one and was will- 
ing to pay a high price for it, but they were not for sale. 



Through Old Eyes 293 

We then returned in the auto to call on Governor- 
General Swart. Then we went to the Sultans' Cemetery 
near the governor's residence. This latter is in the 
old palace grounds of the Sultans. These were such 
enemies of the Dutch that the last Sultan is living in 
banishment in Amboina. Colonel Goldman said the 
Dutch did not take possession of this country of the 
Achinese until 1873 when, by a treaty with Eng- 
land, they were given a free hand to put down piracy, 
which, in spite of treaty after treaty with the Sul- 
tans of Koeta Rajah, was practiced by all his sub- 
jects, high and low; captives sold into slavery just 
as on the north African coast in 1800. The war was 
fought on this issue, but the Dutch at first underrated 
their adversaries and were not always successful. The 
war has lasted pretty much ever since, though it is now 
confined to a few guerrilla bands in the mountains com- 
posed of men who have sworn never to submit to foreign 
domination. Colonel Goldman is the most perfect guide 
one can imagine and is so well informed that it is a 
delight to listen to him. We visited the military- 
cemetery where the officers lie who have been killed in 
the Achinese war. On the marble covering of the 
entrance wall, the honor roll of their names is inscribed. 
It begins with 1873 and ends with 191 2. I wanted to 
see General Kohler's tomb, but his remains were taken 
to Batavia. It was a moving sight to see the list of these 
young men who had fallen on bloody battlefields fighting 
an enemy who regard death in war as the quickest en- 
trance into paradise. 

Colonel Goldman made out an itinerary for me for a 
trip through Atjeh to Medan on the east coast of Suma- 
tra where I cross over to Penang. He telephoned to the 
commandant at Sigli and put me under his charge. I 



294 The Old World 

told him that while I should go out of my way for a fine 
view, still that was not what I was traveling for, that I 
wanted to see the people in their amusements and daily 
lives. So the colonel telephoned to suggest that a 
folk dance be arranged for me by the native chief of this 
district the night of my arrival. During my stay in 
Koeta Rajah, Colonel Goldman brought his wife to call 
on me, a very charming woman. I had trouble in per- 
suading the colonel that I did not wish any one to see me 
off the morning I left. There were two young men in 
the hotel who would not believe this, and they went 
to the station before seven o'clock. One was president 
of the council and spoke English very well. He said 
while he was studying law in Holland, he put all his 
student books aside for three months and devoted all 
that time to the study of Shakespeare. I was four 
hours on the train coming to Sigli. Captain Van Dom 
met me at the station and brought me to the rest house 
where I found only two other guests, two young men. 
The cooking is very good, better than in the hotel at 
Koeta Rajah. Captain Van Dorn remained talking to 
me for some time after I arrived. He speaks only 
Dutch. Late in the afternoon he returned and we 
took a very interesting walk through the little town, 
which is merely a military post. At six we started 
for the native village where the dancing was to take 
place. The wife of the surgeon and some officers 
joined our party. When we arrived at the village, we 
were carried to the public hall which had been draped 
in yellow and red bunting, and a chair, covered with 
yellow, was in place for me by a large round table. 
Here we eight white persons sat with the chief who 
speaks only Malay. We were offered drinks and, as 
the captain said I must drink something, I ordered a 



Through Old Eyes 295 

small glass of beer. The others took various drinks, 
then champagne was brought and I proposed the health 
of the chief, all standing. My neighbor had taught me 
the native words for "long life and prosperity. " Then 
we went to the dancing pavilion, a very large one and 
divided into three different sections. First we looked at 
the women dance. The captain seemed amazed to see 
them. He said in all the years he has been here, he had 
never known the women to dance for Europeans before. 
Seats were provided for us and champagne poured out, 
which I simply touched with my lips. The women formed 
in two rows of eight each, some old and withered, others 
yoting. They swayed their bodies and lifted their 
arms in unison, chanting a monotonous song to the 
beating of drums. They kept this up till I got tired of 
it, so we went to see the men dance. Our seats, table, 
and wine glasses, were brought with us. The dancers 
were in two rings sitting on the ground. In the center 
of each ring stood one or two boys in red shirts and 
Achinese trousers. These latter are tight at the knees 
and close-fitting above, but broad at the ankles and over 
the feet. The boys were the dance leaders. Being 
Mohammedans, their heads were covered with beauti- 
ful handkerchiefs interwoven with silver and gold 
threads, the comers standing off like wings. They 
show a taste for the picturesque in arranging these 
handkerchief turbans. At first the boys danced while 
the men kept time with slow movements of hands and 
arms, and then the men, one party at a time, for it 
was a competitive affair, stood up and danced with 
great energy, springing and throwing out their arms 
and legs. Now I began to hear such strange sounds 
coming from the women that I proposed going back to 
them. We found them still standing in rows opposite 



296 The Old World 

each other but uttering the strangest, hoarse cry. 
This they did by violently heaving the chest and 
letting it sink back with a falling motion of the whole 
upper body, their chins thrust upward as they uttered 
the cry. They looked as though in a state of complete 
exhaustion, but nevertheless they kept uttering these 
hoarse, barking sounds, with convulsive movements 
of the head and body. Their eyes had lost every spark 
of intelligence and were fixed in a vacant stare. I 
never saw so strange a sight before. When I asked 
the captain the meaning of it, he said he had heard 
about these dances, but had never seen them before; 
that it was an Achinese custom for the women to dance 
thus. I think it must be a war dance to excite the men 
and themselves (for the Achinese women fight with the 
men) to every sacrifice in order to slay their enemies. 
These creatures at last had to stop their barking from 
sheer exhaustion, but the captain said they would 
begin again and keep it up the whole night. A dense 
crowd of natives stood around, and among them I 
remarked the beautiful face of a young woman, but 
when I approached to speak to her, with a look of hor- 
ror, indeed of loathing, she fell back in the crowd. 
We returned again to the men dancers, and the chief 
had his little boy brought out for our admiration. He 
was entirely naked except for some jewelry. We now 
approached the third section of dancers where we heard 
a perfect uproar of drums, for even the spectators were 
beating them. Captain Van Dorn had one given him to 
beat. Conversation was impossible The scene was 
extremely exciting. Indeed, I was very much fright- 
ened, but the chief sat near me all the time. The 
dancers were powerful young men armed with long, 
slender knives slightly curved. They were springing 



Through Old Eyes 297 

and stabbing wildly, in desperate thrusts. I was 
afraid their excitement might cause them to run 
amuck, and we unarmed Europeans were very close' 
to these savage creatures. It was the wildest scene 
imaginable, and the young men seemed drunk with the 
longing to slaughter. Bundles of thorn branches were 
brought, incantations uttered, and then a young man 
laid himself down on them while another pressed him 
into them. The captain seemed puzzled over this feat, 
but did not believe the thorns penetrated the flesh. I am 
not sure, to what excesses their frenzy drove them. The 
native spectators were in solid ranks around the dancers, 
all armed with knives. I was greatly relieved when 
our party got safely away from this festival. 

The captain had told me on my arrival that the 
colonel commanding this fort was absent on duty else 
he would have shown me all the sights himself ; that 
he could speak English. I did not object, however, to 
speaking Dutch with Captain Van Dorn. The second 
day he took me all over the fort including hospital, 
machine works, ice factory, and the barracks where 
each native soldier had a section for his bed, on and 
under which he and his family sleep. As the roofs 
are open under the eaves, I suppose there is air enough, 
but the mosquito curtain to each bed is rather closely 
woven and it furnishes the only guarantee of privacy. 
I hate these thick muslin curtains in the hotel. They 
certainly keep out the air and are almost as bad as 
mosquitoes. That evening the captain brought a 
pamphlet he had written about the war in the Padang 
Highlands from 1823 to 1839, which I found deeply 
interesting. He read parts of it to me, especially 
about the causes of that war. Early yesterday morning, 
he came to say that Colonel Scheepens had returned, 



298 The Old World 

and having been told that I should like to see trained 
monkeys throw down cocoanuts from the immensely 
high palm trees, had telephoned to another village to 
have some of these monkeys brought up by train. 
They were to arrive at one o'clock and then the 
captain and the colonel would escort me to the train 
to receive the monkeys and to the trees to see 
them at work. He told me also that Colonel Scheepens 
had ordered a buffalo fight for next day in a village 
where the animals were trained specially for fighting. 
Quite a number of others from the garrison were to 
accompany our party, and we were to start at six in the 
morning by train. At these buffalo fights, the natives 
turn out in great numbers and in their gala clothing 
which would give me a favorable opportunity of seeing 
them at their best. Of course, I was overwhelmed by 
all this attention and kindness, the more so as I knew 
what a busy man Colonel Scheepens was. While the 
captain and I were still talking, we heard an uproar and 
cries of "Amuck! amuck!" The alarm came from the 
open village Hall of Justice, about fifty yards from the 
veranda where we sat. The captain sprang from 
the veranda calling to me to lock myself in my room. 
The servants were weeping and wringing their hands. 
I followed the captain without being able to overtake 
him, and saw coming down the steps of the Hall of 
Justice two wounded men, native officials. One was 
bleeding profusely from a deep gash at the wrist; the 
other had his hand badly cut. Then a powerfully built 
man, supported on each side by a policeman, came 
slowly down the steps. He was being led off to prison, 
but soon fell dead, as I learned subsequently. I saw 
his body later brought in a cart to the hospital. He 
had deep saber cuts on his head. He was the "amuck" 



Through Old Eyes 299 

man, but the saddest feature of this tragedy was 
that the noble colonel, who is regarded by officers and 
men alike almost as a father, was dreadfully wounded 
and had been carried to the hospital before I reached 
the Hall. I ran off to the hospital without the slightest 
preparation, bareheaded, without even a handkerchief. 
In the enclosure I met some officers who were so deeply 
moved they could scarcely speak. The colonel was 
within. The man with the wrist wound was lying in 
the hospital hall almost in a state of collapse, I 
thought; but, for the moment, there was no thought 
except for Colonel Scheepens. His wound was very 
deep in the abdomen under the liver. I heard one 
of the assistants telephone to Governor-General Swart 
to come as soon as possible with the Koeta Rajah 
surgeon and his staff. They started on a special 
train and arrived in less than three hours. While I 
stood waiting for tidings of the colonel, the captain 
came to say that he wished me to come in and speak to 
him. I found him lying on the operating table cov- 
ered with a sheet, his neck and arms bare, a fine head 
and superb eyes. He began by saying how sorry he 
was that he could be of no further service to me, that 
he must still leave me to Captain Van Dorn's care. 
I was deeply touched by the wonderful courage of 
the man who could think of others at such a time. I 
could not control my emotion, and had to turn away my 
head to hide my tears. He told me it was the fifth 
time he had been wounded. I hate to confess it, that 
in such a tragic moment I could not remain to try to 
entertain • him till the surgeons came, because I had 
brought no handkerchief with me, and as I was sobbing, 
I had to fly from the hospital. Captain Van Dorn 
told me later that one of those former wounds had 



•300 The Old World 

taken two years to heal. When I got back to the rest 
house, someone said: "The monkeys are here," but I 
could not imagine what they were talking about. 
They had to explain before I could remember that the 
colonel had ordered them that I might see them throw 
down cocoanuts from the trees. The captain then ap- 
peared, and I was obliged to go with him to see a big 
ape climb a lofty cocoanut tree. On finding no ripe 
nuts, he was opposed to throwing down the green ones, 
but being repeatedly urged by his master, he threw 
down three large green nuts. This ape was really a 
handsome animal, with a clean, glossy skin. He came 
down the moment he was ordered. The captain told 
me the Sumatra natives were very skillful in training 
monkeys to gather the nuts, but in Java they have 
never attempted anything of the kind, nor do they 
train the buffaloes to put themselves between the 
shafts and stoop the head under the yoke as in Sumatra. 
The captain would not permit me to give the monkey 
man more than one gulden. He took my purse away 
from me saying the men had free passes and had been 
paid enough. The fact was, we did not feel in the 
humor for amusement, for our thoughts were in the 
hospital with that poor, noble martyr. At half-past 
four, the governor-general and surgeons arrived and 
the operation was undertaken. It lasted more than two 
hours, and they say there is hope for his recovery. 

I took dinner that night at Mrs. Baldesari's, wife of 
the doctor, and was told the cause of the "amuck." 
The son of a village chief was wounded by another 
Achinese. The wound was dressed in the hospital and 
pronounced slight. Yesterday morning, Colonel Schee- 
pens had to preside over the court which tried the 
assailant. The village chief who was present demanded 



Through Old Eyes 301' 

ten years' banishment for the offender. The native 
■judge advised a fine of thirty-five guldens. The 
chief then appealed to the colonel as president of the 
court to banish the man for ten years. Colonel Schee- 
pens thought this too severe and commuted the fine to 
six months' imprisonment. This so enraged the chief 
that he plunged his knife in the colonel, a most formid- 
able weapon, long, slender, and curved, with a stout, 
bent, iron handle. Two native officials rushed forward 
and cut the man over the head with their sabers, but 
each received a wound. The captain had explained 
to me the day before how the Dutch, when sitting in a 
native court of justice, are obliged to mitigate the sen- 
tences, which often consist in mutilations of the body, 
such as cutting oft" the hand of a thief with more or less 
of the arm, according to the gravity of the case. He said 
Dutch officers always try to induce native judges to 
propose these mitigations, so that the initiative may 
appear to come from themselves. 

Early this morning, the captain sent a message that 
the colonel had passed a satisfactory night. No doubt 
it was the pride of the village chief which caused him to 
demand for the assailant of his son so severe a sentence 
as ten years' banishment. I have just seen his corpse 
borne by on its way to the station. It was not numer- 
ously attended, so I hope the people do not approve 
of his act. Of course, all idea of the buffalo fight 
has been given up, but I shall go to see a native family 
this afternoon. 

Hotel de Boer, Medan, Sumatra, 

October 20, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

Early in the morning I left Sigli; the two young men 
who were staying in the rest house carried me on a 



302 The Old World 

walk through the village to visit some interesting 
Atjeh houses. These are built on high props, with 
floors made of split bamboo, the cracks about the width 
of the bamboo. I wondered how the family could keep 
any small objects in their houses, but all dirt that was 
movable could be got rid of without trouble. 

I saw a bird called a beo hanging in a cage outside 
of a house. I had seen it more than once before, but it 
is not pretty, and as I do not like to see caged birds, I 
had never paid any attention to the beo, but when the 
young men told me it could talk, I stopped to interview 
it. I repeated the Malay word for * ' bird ' ' several times, 
and then waited to hear what it had to say. It began 
to speak in the sweetest and gentlest voice and spoke 
in sentences for some Httle time. I was entirely charmed 
and began again in soothing tones to repeat my one 
Malay word. Again the bird answered in the most 
fascinating way. The young men could tell me nothing 
about the beo. I presume its language is, after all, only 
a bird language, but it sounds entirely like human 
speech, and the bird was very gentle and appreciative. 
It was ready to answer me each time. I should like to 
own one if I could make it happy, but our climate 
would not suit it. It is black with a yellow beak, but 
is not attractive in appearance. The previous night 
these two young men had made an appointment for me 
at the house of a very well-to-do Malay from the Padang 
Highlands. Several other young men joined the party, 
and the host, after showing his home with pride, brought 
out many bottles of imported German beer. The 
young men had, on being asked what they would 
drink, chosen German beer. I had not taken into con- 
sideration the habits of the tropics, or I should have hesi- 
tated to sanction this appointment. No one pays a visit 




COLONEL SCHEEPENS 



Through Old Eyes 303 

here without being invited to drink something. I 
always forgot it when receiving visits, or, at least, I 
rarely thought of it. I would get to talking, and, not 
feeling the slightest wish to drink myself, did not invite 
others to do so. Not until my trip through the Atjeh 
country was ended and I was speaking to a lady about 
tropical customs did the enormity of my offense come 
home to me, and then I remembered that poor Colonel 
Goldman in Koeta Rajah had spent four hours with 
me without my offering him. anything. Also that long- 
suffering Captain Van Dorn in Sigli spent hours reading 
his most interesting treatise on the Padri war to me 
without obtaining a drop to drink. I became so 
conscience-stricken and repentant over this oversight 
that this morning I got off cigars and cigarettes to 
both gentlemen, also cigarettes to the controller of 
Lho Seumawe, another victim though a lesser one. 

At Lho Seumawe, the controller took me to the hotel, 
which was very poor. In this country the hotels are 
poor and the rest houses good and comfortable. The 
difference is that in the rest houses the cook gets all the 
profits from the meals. The room rent is separate, 
and the traveler inscribes in a book how many days 
he has stayed and what rent he has paid. The cooks 
give very good meals, better than in the hotels, where 
the service and food were bad. 

On the train, I enjoyed talking to some very well- 
informed Dutch gentlemen. After they left, an English- 
man came in who told me a great deal I did not want to 
know about the habits of the young men coming out to 
these colonies, who take native or Japanese wives tem- 
porarily to manage their houses and make them com- 
fortable. The Englishman said they were all so coarse 
in their conversation, but as he did not understand a 



304 The Old World 

word of Dutch, I don't see how he could judge. I heard 
afterwards he was a drunkard, and I saw he was not 
a cultivated man. I visited an interesting rubber 
plantation at one of my stopping places. They are the 
same rubber plants we see in our houses at home, which 
grow to very big trees over here, but a new variety 
is rapidly taking their place. While I was walking 
far out in the rubber forest, accompanied by the man- 
ager, we saw two little figures standing still on the other 
side of a deep ditch, two small white boys, two and three 
years old. Th ? manager was astonished to see his own 
children so far from home, but on looking around we 
saw two man-servants and a maid coming for them. 
The mother was greatly alarmed, as I found out after- 
wards, when taken to the house. Six years ago there 
was no money circulating in Langsa, as this province is 
called. The people were poor and at war. The govern- 
ment started this rubber estate as an experiment. 
Five others owned by private individuals have sprung 
up around it, and the people thus provided with regular 
work are contented and law abiding. There is now 
quite a group of government officials here ; a post-office, 
club house, and rest house have been established, and 
50,000 florins monthly circulate in Langsa. These are 
the triumphs of peace and labor among the warlike 
Achinese. Just as I was taking the train for this 
place, I heard the sad news of the death of Colonel 
Scheepens, which was a dreadful shock to me. I had 
inquired every day about his condition and was always 
told that it was satisfactory. He had been taken to 
Koeta Rajah and died there in the hospital. I had 
waited to write to him until I reached Medan, where I 
intended to buy some books to beguile the tedium 
of the sick room. I wanted to write my warm appreci- 



Through Old Eyes 305 

ation of his efforts in my behalf. I have seen long 
notices of him in the papers. He had several high 
decorations and many honorable mentions of his name 
by the home government, and it was said that he was 
to be made governor of the province. His life and 
character were singularly noble, and he devoted himself 
untiringly to the task of civilizing this backward people. 
Though I only saw him on the operating table, he made 
a deep impression on me which can never be effaced — a 
nobly formed head, the expression of the eyes most 
beautiful, a look of strength and gentleness combined : 
and he was killed because he was right, and the other 
man, the savage Malay, wrong. 

The descendants of the former princes of Atjeh are 
all noble, of course, and are called Tookoos. The one 
having authority and recognized by the Dutch govern- 
ment is paid. The headman who lives at Lho Seumawe 
gets over $6000 per month besides land and other 
property" which he owns. The one who lives in Sigli 
and gave the native dance in my honor gets the equiv- 
alent of $3000 a month. There is one millionaire 
among these chiefs. Petroleum was found on his land, 
and I am told that he has sent a million florins to the 
English banks in Singapore. 

I could not help grieving very much over the death of 
poor Colonel Scheepens. He was born the same year 
as Sedley. He was on the eve of a year's absence in 
Holland, besides the promotion awaiting him. He was 
one of the best-loved men among the Dutch in Atjeh. 
Well, it was strange to find myself weeping over the 
death of this stranger. On my way here, I had to 
leave the train after an hour and a half, cross a river on 
a ferry, and then take a trap for six miles to the steam- 
boat landing. The steamer had but one class, I believe. 



306 The Old World 

It certainly had no first class. I got a comfortable 
chair and found it quite attractive at first, passing 
through a narrow and winding stream with dense tropi- 
cal forests growing down into the water, but soon it 
began to rain in torrents. The sail cloth had to be let 
down and the view hidden. Two fine-looking Dutch- 
men and I were the only white passengers. I wanted to 
talk to them, but they came on with their Japanese 
housekeepers, and the Englishman had given me so 
much information on that subject that I could not 
make up my mind to speak to them. We did not reach 
Brandon, the end of the boat trip, till nine that night. 
I had to spend the night there and come on by train 
next morning. This is a first-class hotel and very 
comfortable in all respects. I am now in the province 
of Deli, which contains the celebrated tobacco planta- 
tions producing the highest grade tobacco coming from 
this part of the world and famous in Europe, so that 
there is a great deal of wealth in the city and its neigh- 
borhood. Many ships call here on their way to Penang, 
Singapore, Batavia, etc. I feel lonely in these big 
hotels where I come in contact with no one, and sit at 
a little table by myself. I have a pleasant room with 
veranda. I wrote a note to the English Consul asking 
him to call as there is no American Consul here. I wrote 
also to the acting Resident for advice as to what to see 
here and will call on him to-morrow. 

October 23, 1913. 

I began this letter three days ago. That evening 
the acting British Consul called, a young Scotchman 
and quite unsophisticated. I had asked him to call 
at any time between seven and eight, the latter my 
dinner hour and that of most people here. He came 



Through Old Eyes 307 

soon after seven, and when my watch indicated half -past 
nine and he had not made the slightest movement to 
go, I asked if he would have another whiskey and soda, 
which he declined. I waited another fifteen minutes 
and then asked if he had dined. He had not. I then 
asked him to dine with me. He declined saying he 
had an engagement. Then the head steward came to 
say that everyone had dined but me and they were 
waiting to close the dining-room. It was almost ten 
o'clock. My guest evidently expected me to dismiss 
him, so I got up at last saying it was nearly ten o'clock 
and I could not keep the servants waiting any longer. 
He said it was not that late. I did not care to dispute 
the point with him. He stood before me helpless to tear 
himself away simply because he did not know how to go 
without being dismissed. At last I took him by the 
hand and thanked him for his visit. He then left 
his telephone number so that when I wanted to see him 
again I should lose no time in getting him. I then 
bowed him out. With the grum-looking servants 
standing about me, I ate a little dinner and went to 
bed. My dear Susan Smedes used to say that there 
should be a chair in all universities to teach young 
people when to go home. The acting Resident wrote 
me to call next day at his office. When I told him that 
I had met Colonel Scheepens and was in Sigli at the time 
of the tragedy, he said he was writing to Colonel Schee- 
pens's father and asked me to add something to his 
letter. I wrote yesterday in Dutch an account of my 
acquaintance with Colonel Scheepens, got it corrected, 
and sent it to Mr. Schadee, the acting Resident. I 
called on Mrs. Schadee Tuesday evening by appoint- 
ment, and had a pleasant visit. I always speak Eng- 
lish when I think it is desired, even though I have the 



3o8 The Old World 

conviction that they do not understand half of what I 
say. I take pains to speak very slowly and in simple 
sentences. Mrs. Schadee called for me at seven this 
morning to go to the big mosque built by her husband's 
brother, who is an architect. It is a beautiful building 
inside and out and in beautiful taste. Mr. Schadee and 
his brother accompanied us, and when we left the 
mosque the architect excused the blue coloring of one of 
the domes, saying the Sultan had given orders to have it 
painted blue. I said: "I think the Sultan was right. 
We are in the Orient and I think all the domes of this 
mosque should be painted some bright color." The 
painted domes of Moscow give it a marvelously Oriental 
look, though it lies in the latitude of Kamtschatka. 
One does not wish the sober colors of the north in the 
Orient. Of course, the architect merely thought I was 
a woman of wretched taste. 

A gentleman in this hotel has made me a present of an 
Achinese knife that was confiscated from a prisoner. It 
is a formidable weapon. As soon as they thrust it in 
deep, they turn it in the wound by means of a crank- 
like handle. When I looked at it I could but think of 
poor Colonel Scheepens, who stood no chance when 
this knife had been turned around in the wound. I 
asked the Scotch Consul if there were any Americans 
residing here. He answered: ''Mr. and Mrs. Ward, 
missionaries." I got the address and late yesterday 
afternoon I called there. They have a large Chinese 
school, and Mr. Ward was drilling the boys and girls in 
an open square opposite the schoolhouse where they 
live, I went into the square and looked at the chil- 
dren. Mr. Ward is a young, unmarried man living 
with his mother. He sent one of the boys to fetch the 
old lady and two chairs, for I declined to go into the 



Through Old Eyes 309 

house. Mrs. Ward thanked me, when she came out, for 
bringing her into the open air. They are Methodists 
and her children were all born in India in the Nizam's 
dominion where she lived thirty years, her husband 
dying there. They are now teaching English and the 
New Testament to the Chinese. I asked one of the 
young men, an assistant teacher, if the Chinese learned 
Dutch. He said : "Some few have done so, but as soon 
as they cross over to the Straits Settlements or go 
out of these colonies, Dutch becomes useless, so the 
Chinese do not wish their children to learn it. They all 
want to learn English." He said he could not speak 
Chinese though himself a Chinaman ; could only speak 
English and Malay. His parents put him, when young, in 
an English school. English is becoming more and more 
surely the common language of the world. In Singa- 
pore, I saw hundreds of Chinese boys coming out of the 
American Methodist School where they go simply to 
learn English. The Chinese used to hate to send their 
children to mission schools, but English is so important 
to them they now take the risk of their children being 
converted. 

Mr. Ward gave me a long account of his differences 
with the Chinese mayor of Medan. The Chinese 
elect a mayor of their own race to watch over their 
interests. The Dutch, of course, have their mayor. 
Mr. Ward says the Chinese mayor is a millionaire and 
has opened a large Chinese school near his institution. 
Strange to say, his nephew sends his children to Mr. 
Ward. The Chinese mayor regards the mission school 
with disfavor. Mr. Ward said I ought to get acquainted 
with a certain Mr. Van der Brand of Medan, a lawyer 
who had written some criticisms of the Dutch colonial 
policy and drawn a commission of inquiry from the home 



310 The Old World 

government. I had asked in Koeta Rajah how many 
days' work the government exacted from the natives, and 
was astonished at the answer, "fifty-four," — a day out of 
every week. I thought of the ten days in the Philip- 
pines, five only, if the people feed themselves, as I 
believe they are forced to do here. This fifty-four days 
corvee is a very good reason why the people should form 
a Sarekat Islam for mutual protection. I read in a 
Penang paper, that a Straits Settlements dollar, fifty- 
eight cents, would pay the taxes of a well-to-do man in 
that settlement for a year. Really fifty-four days of 
forced labor is far too great a tax on a subject race, and 
it does not pay to treat them with injustice. Insur- 
rections, murders, and crimes are all costly. Content- 
ment amongst the people is the best of all investments. 
Mr. Ward has made an engagement for me to call 
on Mr. Van der Brand. The Schadees took me to the 
Sultan's palace, which is a very handsome building, but 
he does not reside in it, preferring his old home where 
he can be just as dirty as he likes. He is immensely 
wealthy from the rent of his tobacco lands. I have 
made two pleasant acquaintances in the hotel, Mrs. 
Albarda and her husband, he a Dutch official. She is 
charming to me. 

WiNCHELL Home, Penang, 

October 31, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

A few days before leaving Medan, I went to the men's 
club to look over the back numbers of some newspapers. 
I saw a gentleman there of whom I asked permission to 
do this. He assured me that I was perfectly welcome to 
read and then proceeded to talk to me so that I could 
not do so. He said he was of English birth but had 



Through Old Eyes 311 

come out to the Dutch Indies so young that he could 
not speak English, only Dutch. During my conversa- 
tion, I mentioned that I wanted to see a Batock village 
very much, and had asked the hotel proprietor to engage 
an automobile and I was going to take Mr. Ward and 
his mother with me. Mrs. Ward works so hard and 
is such a sincerely good woman. Her son has some 
Batock boys in his school and speaks several dialects 
himself, so I thought we should enjoy this excursion 
together. I am curious to see this interesting race, 
who, until very recently, were cannibals, and I believe 
still are in the remote parts of the interior. Well, this 
English gentleman said immediately: "I will take you 
in an automobile." I thought I did not hear him 
correctly and did not answer until he repeated this 
more than once. He said he had a camera and wanted 
to take pictures of the villages. I then thanked him 
with effusion and listened to his tales of tiger shooting 
and his life in Borneo where he was laying out a railway 
for the Dutch government. He told me in this con- 
nection some very remarkable things about the head 
hunters with whom he had to lodge while suffering 
from malaria. When at length I rose to go back to the 
hotel, it was nearly two o'clock. I thought of inviting 
him to lunch, but concluded it would be better to do 
that later. At parting, he said he would be at the hotel 
at six o'clock on Sunday morning and then asked: 
"Will you hire the auto or shall I do it for you?" I 
hope I concealed my amazement successfully. I said: 
' * Oh, I can do it from the hotel. " If I had not received 
so many favors as a tourist, I should not have believed 
this man so easily, but so much has been done for me 
that I was completely taken in. I now find myself 
saddled with a companion for whom I have lost respect, 



312 The Old World 

and without room for the Wards whom I really like 
and desire to have with me. I had to remember my 
business principle, "Put up with a bargain however 
bad. " Mr. Ward had advised me to call on the general 
manager of the great Deli Company, which has a lease 
for ninety-nine years, renewable on nearly all the 
land in the province of Deli. The celebrated tobacco 
raised here is only used as wrappers for cigars. I 
called on him by appointment the afternoon of my visit 
to the club and said I had been advised to ask him what 
I should see as a tourist before leaving Medan. When 
he learned I wished to see the Batocks, he said : "Appoint 
the hour you wish to go and I shall send my auto for 
you. I shall telephone my manager on the BekoUa 
estate to show you the two Batock villages there and the 
plantation also." I asked what the charge would be. 
He said there was none, so at seven o'clock on Saturday 
morning his superb motor was at the hotel door. On 
the previous afternoon, however, I had written a note 
to my new acquaintance telling him that Mr. Van T. 
was to send me out to the Batock villages in his motor, 
therefore I should not have the pleasure of taking 
the trip with him on Sunday. Fortunately I had his 
address. I was greatly relieved to get rid of him. Per- 
haps he thought he was doing me a favor in offering 
himself as an interpreter. The motor ride early next 
morning was most lovely. I found the manager, Mr. 
Majoie, waiting breakfast for me, but I had already 
breakfasted in the hotel. We took the motor and 
went over the place, and he was much amused when he 
found out that I had been mistaking the young teak 
plantations for tobacco all morning. I had waxed 
very enthusiastic over them and said it was different 
from any tobacco I had ever seen. "Such luxuriant 



Through Old Eyes 313 

growth, the result of this tropical climate, no doubt, " I 
observed. Mr. Majoie said they planted the teak for 
poles to use in the drying sheds. 

The Batock villages were intensely interesting to me. 
The women's ear ornaments are the most singular I 
ever saw and certainly the heaviest. They are formed 
of bars of solid silver coiled at the end. They have to 
be fastened to the headdress to hold them in place and 
are most cumbersome. All the women who can afford 
it invest their savings in this way. They are such a 
dirty people that any more delicate ornament would 
not suit them. I could not even enjoy looking at the 
children, they were so dirty. They all file their teeth 
and have heavy projecting gums. The old women 
are hideous hags and the young ones unsightly. Only 
curiosity can make one look at them. When I got 
home I wrote a note of thanks to Mr. Van T., and 
finding a Dutch translation of The Great Illusion at a 
book store, I sent it with the note to his office. In a 
little while an answer came: "He was pleased that I 
had enjoyed the trip. So very glad to get the book. 
Would ask me to allow him to refund the money paid 
for it, which I should find enclosed. " I felt as though 
someone had struck me in the face. It excited me so 
painfully that I could not write, so I took a rickishaw 
and went to my friends', the Wards. I wanted to be 
with Americans. I found them very kind and sym- 
pathetic. Mr. Ward said that Mr. Van T. was the 
proudest man in Medan; that he had an enormous 
salary and enormous power, and was, in short, a kind 
of Czar and would not receive a favor, certainly not 
from many persons. I then got a double rickishaw 
and took a drive with Mrs. Ward. The country is 
flat and she weighs very little. We had a heart-to- 



314 The Old World 

heart talk. She and her son put their whole heart in 
their work. I hope he will succeed in raising money to 
build large class rooms. They are very crowded now. 

I invited the acting Resident and his wife to dinner 
on Sunday evening, and after dinner we went to a 
concert. I wore my new dress and felt entirely comme il 
faut. 

The trip by ship over here lasted less than twenty- 
four hours ; I drove at once to the Winchell Home, a 
Methodist mission school for girls. Miss Clara Martin 
is seemingly the head. There are no men in the house. 
They have a very flourishing Chinese attendance and, 
judging by the carriages which bring the day pupils and 
by the looks of the girls, I should say that many of 
them belong to the upper Chinese circles of Penang. 
I have been so busy reading home letters that I have 
done no sightseeing. I enjoy the wholesome family 
fare here, simple but well cooked. Miss Martin told me 
there was to be a very large wedding at the house of 
a wealthy Chinese merchant, and as the teachers here 
were invited, she would take me also. The festivities 
were to last for three days, so we went yesterday even- 
ing to the very large and handsome Chinese home. 
The floors and staircases were covered with elegant 
carpets. At the end of a long, broad hall, was an 
altar profusely decorated. Enormous wax candles were 
burning on it and there were offerings of fruit. We 
took seats, and refreshments were handed us. They 
were all sweets, daintily and beautifully prepared. We 
then went upstairs into the bridal chamber, not large 
enough for this climate, but it contained the most 
magnificent bed imaginable. The counterpane, pillow 
and bolster slips, were all of solid embroidery of the 
finest kind, not a pin point of the material visible. 



Through Old Eyes 315 

The furniture had mostly glass doors, so that we could 
see the beautiful brocades and muslins within. These 
Chinese women dress like the Javanese in sarongs. 
The bride sat in a corner absolutely silent and was 
weighted down with jewels and magnificent embroid- 
ery, with a headdress formed of a forest of golden 
flowers. I felt very sorry for her. She wore five very 
heavy golden chains reaching to the girdle, also a chain 
of jade beads each set in gold, three sunbursts of dia- 
monds, several diamond rings on each hand, and dia- 
monds in her hair behind the golden parterre. I tried 
to elicit a word by repeating the only Chinese word I 
knew for "beautiful. " I was told it was not etiquette 
for her to speak or to show any emotion or to let me fan 
her. One of the sisters-in-law had been a pupil in this 
school and could speak a little English. She was young 
and good-looking and had four children. 

At last the Malay girl dancers began to dance below. 
I tried to persuade a Chinese maiden to go down with 
me to see them, but was told the girl would lose position 
if she did so. Many of the Chinese ladies present had 
their black hair ornamented with bands made entirely 
of tiny flower-buds, white and pink, so closely packed 
that they could not wilt. This mosaic work was reaUy 
lovely, and the flowers lasted for hours, in the heat. 
The Chinese girl told me it took only a half -hour to 
make one, but it is really an artistic creation. I went 
downstairs alone to see the Malay girls dance. There 
were no other ladies in the room, so I took my seat 
near them, and they seemed pleased and smiled at me 
continually. When they rested, they sat near me and 
we talked though we could not understand each other. 
I felt embarrassed at being the only lady in the room, 
so I went back upstairs and found the brid^ haying 



3i6 The Old World 

her clothes changed. Her gold crown was taken off 
and diamond pins put in her hair. She looked much 
better for the change. As some other European ladies 
had arrived in the dancing hall, I went back. The 
dancing was monotonous but modest. At last the hall 
was cleared of the crowd and the tables laid for dinner. 
We had been invited to dine there, and Miss Martin 
said she liked it as it was a sort of rice table, but the 
occasion was entirely too grand for the ordinary rice 
table, so about twenty courses were served, out of 
which I could have made an excellent meal had there 
been any bread, or rice, or potatoes. However, I was 
very hungry, and I used a very sweet grapefruit and a 
compote as relishes, eating all kinds of meat and green 
peas with them. Champagne was plentiful, but I took 
none, drinking ginger ale, since water was not to be had. 
There was plenty of ice for the drinks and all kinds of 
sauces for the meats. When the champagne had pro- 
duced its effect, three of the young men guests got up 
and danced with the three Malay girls and the dancing 
became fast and furious. One of the young men 
looked like an Englishman. He seemed at last to be 
exhausted, but these girls had been dancing for three 
hours. A son of the house presided at our table and 
introduced us to the bridegroom, his brother. I was sur- 
prised to hear this young man sitting at the head of our 
table disparage the marriage state and his own wife 
and children, until I remembered that among the 
Chinese this is considered good manners. When we 
went upstairs again, we found the poor bride wearing 
her heavy gold headdress. Later in the evening I held 
it in my hand and it was too heavy to be agreeable to 
hold. The poor creature was dreadfully nauseated 
from the heat and weight of her finery. After this she 



Through Old Eyes 317 

had to stand three hours in the bridal chamber, while the 
men streamed up to pay their respects. 

P. S. Bessie's letter speaks of entertaining "Aunt 
Mary's Frenchman." Is it possible that Monsieur C. 
has been to see you ? If so, I hope you gave him wine 
for his dinner. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, 
Federated Malay States, 

November 6, 19 13. 

My dear Family: 

I wrote you last from Penang. Before leaving, I 
went back to see more of the Chinese wedding, which 
lasted for at least three days. None of the ladies in the 
Winchell Home had time to accompany me. I found 
the three Malay girls still dancing in their monotonous 
way and the musicians still playing and the long table 
stiU loaded with sweets. I went upstairs to find the 
bride, but she was no longer in her room of state, so I 
went back downstairs ready to leave, for without one 
of the mission ladies I didn't care to remain longer, but 
I was much amused by an old woman, toothless, and 
with her gray hair in a knot about the size of a thimble, 
very plainly dressed, barefooted, with a green scarf 
thrown over one shoulder, and waving a red handkerchief 
in her hand. She, evidently impatient at the perfunc- 
tory performance of the three girls, suddenly rushed 
into the dancing arena to give them lessons. This 
created great merriment among the public, and the 
girls fled before the ridicule. A woman in authority 
pushed one of them back to force her to dance with the 
old woman. The latter danced with so much spirit 
I am sure she must have been a famous danseuse in her 



31 8 The Old World 

youth. I felt a strong sympathy for the old hag, and 
applauded her performance with zeal. She sprang 
around with the greatest agility and danced infinitely 
better than the hired girls. 

My first stopping place after Penang was Ipoh in the 
Federated Malay States. These states are the territories 
of the native Sultanates, but are mostly governed by 
the English through their Residents and other officials. 
They have their individual postage stamps, which you 
will see on this letter. The Straits Settlements are British 
territory. They are Singapore, Malacca, the Bindings, 
and Penang, counting from south to north. Besides 
these two divisions, there are four other states in the 
Malay Peninsiila under British protectorate. They 
were ceded by Siam to England. The Siamese got 
among other things for this territory the right to try 
English subjects in Siamese courts with Siamese judges. 
I heard in Bangkok that there were no hardships 
resulting from this cession of the right of ex-territori- 
ality by the British, which, however, other western 
nations still possess in Siam. The territory acquired 
in Malaya is a solid acquisition. 

The hotel manager in Ipoh told me that rubber ought 
to pay well at one half-dollar a pound, that the trouble 
was the boom had inflated the price of rubber estates 
until one worth ten thousand pounds sterling was sold 
for fifty thousand, and that the fall only represented a 
return to normal prices, that it cost no more than a 
shilling a pound to produce rubber and the two-shilling 
price ought to pay handsomely and would do so but for 
the over-capitalization. There are much distress and 
many failures consequent on the fall in rubber. The 
manager then went on to discuss his difficulties with 
the servant class, which he did with much feeling. 



Through Old Eyes 319 

Chinese are the servants in demand here, but they have 
formed themselves into a secret society and admit none 
other to compete with them. This society, the ' ' Hylam' ' 
seems to give as much annoyance to the employers in 
Malaya as the Sarekat Islam does in Java. The 
manager said: "Why, I do not dare curse my servants; 
they would report me to the society and boycott me. " 
I: "Why do you wish to curse them?" "Why? I 
should like to kill them!" The manager was so busy 
he didn't have much time to talk to me. When I am 
in a mission home, I always find some intelligent person 
to give me information. On arriving here I went to 
the railway hotel, and found it the loneliest place I ever 
struck, nobody to ask a question. I don't like to pay 
very high prices unless conditions are pleasant. This 
was far from being the case. I went to the only 
other hotel ; it was full. I then asked if there were any 
American missionaries in Kuala Lumpur. I had to put 
this question to the station master, my loneliness was 
so complete. I am now in a delightful home, the 
American Mission School for Boys, over four hundred, 
all day pupils. The residence of the principal is not 
very near the school building, though in the same 
grounds on this pretty hill. The principal is a young 
man, Mr. Parker, very energetic and intensely interested 
in his teaching. His wife is extremely pretty. They 
have been married scarcely a year. Then there is a 
very agreeable young man from Madison, Wis., Univer- 
sity, Mr. Hooley. He and I are equally enthusiastic 
over some of the Madison professors. He will return to 
the States to get his doctor's degree. Besides Mr. and 
Mrs. Parker and Mr. Hooley, there are two lady teach- 
ers at our family table. The other teachers are all na- 
tives, Chinese and half-caste. These latter are hardly 



320 The Old World 

recognized socially. In English governed colonies, this 
is universally the case. The Dutch are more hu- 
mane and more advanced, I think, in this respect. 
The food here is simple, one kind of meat only, which 
suits me entirely, and the cooking is good. We have 
plenty of fruit, too : papayas, grapefruit, and bananas, 
all fine. I have a pleasant room where the two doors 
remain open night and day. 

Yesterday I went on the train to the Batu caves, 
thirty -five minutes' ride, then a quarter of a mile to the 
foot of the 150 steep steps. I had two boys to guide 
me. My knees were quite shaky when I got to the 
top. Though these caves are not remarkable, they 
are pretty and light and airy. In approaching the 
entrance, two statues strike the eye. I really thought 
they had been made by man, they were so effective, but 
on nearer examination they proved to be natural for- 
mations caused by the disintegrating effects of weather. 
After the caves, having more than an hour on my hands, 
I walked down the railway track for a mile in the bright 
sunshine, but a fine breeze was blowing in my face. I 
reached a famous rubber plantation, or rather the 
manager's home and the factory, for the railway runs 
a long distance through the estate. I knocked at the 
door. No one came. It was a charming home, so I 
took a newspaper and a comfortable seat on the porch, 
which was filled with lovely plants. The servants found 
me all too soon, and as the family were absent I was 
sent to the factory, not very far distant. The drying 
rooms of the factory looked as though filled with broad 
cream-colored, cr^pe ribbons and some smoke-colored 
ones, all hanging over slender wooden bars in long 
strips from the ceiling. It was a very pretty sight. 
The process of making rubber is very simple and clean. 



Through Old Eyes 321 

The sap is brought in and poured into big earthen jars. 
Ascetic acid at a certain degree of strength is mixed with 
the creamlike sap. This is done in the evening. Next 
morning the pretty pale yellow dough is taken out and 
passed through a roller press which turns out the strips. 
These then go through another press which turns them 
out so pretty and even and fine, like beautiful cr^pe. 
They are then hung in the drying room. I suppose the 
few smoke-colored strips are a kind of refuse, but I 
had no one to question. The processes are so simple, 
I do not think highly trained labor necessary, and I 
imagine the hotel manager at Ipoh is right about rubber 
paying well at two shillings a pound, where the property 
has not been over-valued. 

I hear that an auto from Detroit is crowding all 
others out of the market over here. It sells for $750 
and is complete, nothing for the buyer to add except 
extra tires. I believe it is called the "Ford." The 
manufacturers are said to have eliminated waste and 
inefficiency, besides useless advertising, so that the 
price could be reduced one half. With cheaper rubber, 
the price may be still further reduced, I hope. Some 
day I shall get such an auto, but the "Beauties" will 
have to run it. 

Mr. Parker uses almost entirely English text-books 
in his school. There is also a Methodist school for girls 
in Kuala Lumpur. I bought a ticket and went last 
night to the dress rehearsal of an operetta given by the 
girls of this school. There were about fifty children, big 
and little. The American lady teachers have been 
working all their spare time for weeks getting up the 
lovely costumes for the girls. It was an interesting 
performance and calculated to enhance the reputation 
of the school among the Chinese. There were many 



322 The Old World 

autos standing before the town hall entrance belonging 
to the parents. Many of the Chinese here are very- 
wealthy, and they appreciate more and more the 
advantages of mission schools for their girls and boys. 
The tickets are sold for two and three Straits Settle- 
ments' dollars, and I think the entertainment is worth it. 
The girls are not graceful enough, however, and show 
the need of dancing lessons. I spoke about this to one 
of the teachers, a pretty and agreeable young lady, but 
heavens! you can't talk to Methodists about dancing. 
They have the same prejudice against it that a certain 
personage is said to have for holy water. The girls sang 
nicely and were beautifully dressed, but they moved 
about in a clumsy way lacking that airy grace necessary 
for the fairies they represented. 

Kuala Lumpur, 

November 12, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

I did not expect to write you another letter from this 
place, but I was advised by Mr. Burnside, the English 
Resident, to write to the Secretary of the Sultan of 
Selangor, the native potentate of this district, and ask 
permission to attend a great festival to be given at 
Klang where he resides. Klang is about an hour's 
ride from here by train. Mr. Burnside's conversation 
was very interesting. He said he had been absent, 
sitting on a commission in Jahore trying the Sultan of 
that district. I asked : ' * What has he been doing ? * ' with 
much interest. Mr. Burnside shook his head and said : 
"It cannot be discussed at present," which was very 
mysterious. I have heard that this Sultan of Jahore 
gets immense revenues from his state and uses them all 
for his own private and not very laudable purposes, 



Through Old Eyes 323 

while his country is almost entirely undeveloped. 
Other Sultans of the four federated states have no con- 
trol over the collection and expenditure of the revenues, 
are only a voice in the council where a British official 
presides. I think perhaps the English are getting 
tired of the autocratic rule of the Sultan of Jahore, and 
may wish for an opportunity of putting him in line with 
the other native princes who rule under the supervision 
of British officials. The Federated Malay States show 
the effects of this wise rule on every side. I asked 
Mr. Burnside about the Chinese secret society which 
seems to be giving so much annoyance. He said the 
society is called the Hylam, that being the name of 
the race coming from Hainan, an island off Tongking in 
the China Sea. He says this society is acting in a most 
lawless manner, hesitating at no kind of crime to keep 
out other domestic servants and boycotting all those 
of their own race who do not join it. A cook who is not 
a member of the Hylam must pay more for his master's 
supplies after waiting till all others are served. The 
government is now investigating a case where a clerk 
who copied some evidence damaging to the society 
has disappeared totally, and indications all point to 
murder. The advantage the government possesses is 
that there are so many other races here; many Indians 
from British India, especially Tamils from the Coro- 
mandel coast and many Chinese engaged in other 
occupations than domestic service, which latter seems 
confined to the Hylam race from Hainan. It would be 
a public service to break up this secret, criminal organi- 
zation and make it an open, legal one for maintaining 
wages, to which the government would not object. 

I received an invitation to go to the Sultan's festival 
and went Sunday morning with high expectations which 



324 The Old World 

were entirely disappointed, for that day was given up to 
field sports for which I do not care, so I came home. 
Next day with much soberer expectations, I went back 
and was rewarded for I was delighted with my morning 
in Klang. The secretary met me and said Mr. Burn- 
side had written him about me. He then took me to 
the big hall and gave me a seat near the throne. The 
room was filled with deputations of Malays, Tamils, 
Indians, and Chinese, all seated on the floor. He 
then introduced to me the assistant district officer, an 
Englishman, who could explain everything, as he under- 
stood Malay. The palace, called here the Astana, is a 
very handsome building worthy to be called a palace. 
It stands on a fine hill overlooking the valley and was 
gaily decorated with many flags and pennants. Shortly 
after I took my seat, the Sultan came down the great 
staircase and took his place standing below the throne 
and facing the multitude which rose up to greet him. 
His dress was decidedly disappointing, for he wore a 
white suit like any European. The spokesman of each 
delegation read an address, then knelt and kowtowed 
without kissing his feet, the Sultan standing all the 
time. After the homage, a curiously shaped vase with 
a long slender neck was brought and some drops were 
shaken out of it in the Sultan's right hand. Then a 
similar vase was brought and the same thing done to his 
left hand. Then beautiful bouquets and a lovely 
design in white jasmines were presented to him. He 
hung the floral design on his arm and put the bouquets 
aside. The address of the Indians had to be translated 
into Malay, that of the Chinese was in English. After 
all this was over, the secretary called me to come for- 
ward and at the same time the Sultan approached me. 
I was introduced, shook hands, and made some remarks 



Through Old Eyes 325 

which were translated by the secretary. Then the 
assistant district officer came up and shook hands. 
It was a purely Malay function and I was the only 
woman present. The Sultan is rather lighter colored 
than most Malays, with very good features. We 
Europeans were then carried upstairs into a large room 
where we were introduced to the Crown Prince. He is 
just twenty-one and is to be married very soon. He 
spoke English very well, but was shy and reserved. 
We then went down into the dining-room where a long 
table was literally covered with sweetmeats and cake. 
I tasted some out of curiosity and drank a cup of tea. 
We then went out to see the feast prepared for the 
Malay deputation. They sat in a circle on the floor 
of the great hall. Dishes piled with rice in which were 
currants were placed before them. Then other dishes 
of meat and gravies in great abundance were brought. 
Each man would take a handful of rice, squeeze it into a 
ball, roll it in the gravy, and then in the rice again, and 
finally fill his mouth. I was so afraid of appearing 
indiscreet that I did not wait to see how they were going 
to tackle the meat, but I suppose each man had his own 
knife and cut off pieces with it. These people are more 
rigid Mohammedans than those in Sumatra, for nothing 
stronger than tea was offered to drink. 

November 13, 1913. 

I asked about the present of the native princes of 
Malaya of a Dreadnought to the British Navy. It was 
suggested to them by the British officials here and was 
not a spontaneous act. One cannot blame the officials, 
for if England were threatened in her naval supremacy, 
these colonies would most probably suffer invasion. 
As they are wonderfiilly prosperous under the English 



326 The Old World 

rule, it is right for them to contribute something to the 
common protection. I read a composition on this 
subject from a boy in Mr. Parker's school in which he 
spoke of the cunning English extorting money for a 
Dreadnought when the people have such need of it for 
education. It rains every day and as rain is good for 
rubber, no one seems to complain, so I keep my feelings 
on the subject strictly to myself. 

Penang, 
November 21, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I found myself forced to give up the trip to Malacca, 
and returned from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, stopping 
en route at both Ipoh and Taiping. My hosts in Ipoh 
were English Methodists, their voices and accent lovely; 
a very musical family too. Their children are at school 
in England. In Ipoh I got a motor car and with Mrs. 
Harley, drove out to see some curious cavern temples 
which seem to be dug in a marble hill ; they are Chinese. 
Fine white marble abounds around Ipoh. It is a small 
town, but there are many wealthy Chinese here who 
patronize the mission school and make its prosperity. 
They raised $25,000, Straits Settlements dollars for 
new buildings. When these are finished in their lovely 
grounds, they will be an ornament to the town. The 
Chinese prosper greatly in this land of freedom and free 
trade, for they are very hard workers. All races are 
welcomed here and help to develop the great natural 
resources of the country. I am told that a duty on 
these wonderful tin mines produces all the revenue the 
government needs, but I imagine rubber also contributes 
something though not so much since the great decline 
in values. It gratified me much to hear Mr. Harley 



Through Old Eyes 327 

say that, though a Methodist, he did not beheve in a 
literal hell and could call himself also an evolutionist, 
but I found a book in his house written by Miss 
Carmichael, wherein she describes the most heartrending 
tragedies brought on their poor converts by those 
fanatical but honest women missionaries. I could 
hardly bring myself to read the fearful tale. She gives 
harrowing pictures of their sufferings and tragic deaths. 
I spoke to Mr. Harley about it, and he said: "The 
Lord would provide for the poor creatures. " The fact 
that the Lord did not do so seems to make no impression 
on his mind, nor on the conscientious fanatics who have 
overwhelmed those simple, happy lives with ruin. If 
people would only understand that our religion shoiild 
bring peace and joy and happiness on earth and that 
martyrdoms are no longer necessary, how much misery 
would be spared. The spirit of Christianity is sub- 
versive of caste and will gradually permeate and 
disintegrate it, how useless then to attack it openly. 

Malaya is very mountainous and the mountains are 
covered with forests. Taiping is beautifully situated 
among them. The two lady missionaries received me 
most kindly, and one accompanied me to the museum 
where I had the advantage of being shown its treasures 
by the curator, an interesting young Englishman with 
whom I got into a great argument over the English 
colonial policy in India. He said they were here to 
exploit the country and not for any good they might do 
the inhabitants, and yet he could not deny that in the 
seventies, when the English took possession of this 
peninsula, there was not a single road in the country 
(which was covered with jungle), the rivers being the 
sole m^ans of communication with the interior; that 
civil strife reigned, the peasants being trampled 



328 The Old World 

under foot by the contending factions, and regarded as 
unworthy of consideration by their chiefs ; that now good 
roads run everywhere, while prosperous towns and vil- 
lages have sprung up on every side connected by a fine 
system of railways, more largely used by natives than by 
whites; that the humblest man can count on English 
justice to protect his life and property; that the taxes 
are very low, and that all who are industrious and thrifty 
can amass property. All this he conceded but con- 
tinued to say that the English found these things to their 
advantage, while I contended that the only enduring 
advantage is that which is mutual. Only enlightened 
nations see this and endeavor to develop, not to exploit, 
the lower races. Vaccination alone has saved count- 
less lives, pure water has lowered the death-rate so 
that population is increasing rapidly, while thriving 
schools are seen everywhere. Yet this gentleman regrets 
the good old times though he is so young. He says 
that when he was in Borneo he Saw how much happier 
and more contented the natives were in the undeveloped 
parts of the country, while on the great rubber estates 
they had become mere hangers-on of the white man. 
It is this experience which has warped his views. I did 
not visit Borneo, but I have read of the head hunters 
there and of their theoretically patriarchical rule, and 
I believe it is merely an exception when conditions are 
tolerable. Mr. Evans asked us to take tea with him 
in his bachelor quarters, but the very idea frightened 
my timid missionary friend, so I urged him to go home 
with us, which he did, and we had a pleasant tea table 
in the parlor while one of the most furious storms I 
ever experienced lashed the dwelling so that the servants 
had to wipe up the water that was driven in constantly. 
Mr. Evans's conversation was very interesting. He told 



Through Old Eyes 329 

me of the big bats called flying foxes, of black monkeys 
with white mouths and white bars over their eyes 
which give them a startling appearance. When the 
wind and rain lulled, he went home. I wish I could 
think that the guest I invited to the house might prove a 
friend to these two lonely women, so good and refined. 
I visited their classes and was astonished at the progress 
of the children. 

Rangoon, 
November 28, 1913. 

My dear Family: 

I was three days on the trip up from Penang. On 
board were two sisters, very attractive, who said they 
were with me on the Siberia. They told me they had 
met last summer an English lady who was telling them 
of an old American woman traveling alone whom she 
had met in Tosari. The two exclaimed immediately: 
"That was Mrs. Ware who was on the Siberia with us." 
I wish I could remember faces. I am so often mortified 
at not remembering people who speak to me and say, 
"Don't you remember me?" I pretend to do so, 
which is not entirely honest and seldom successful. 
I chose the best hotel in Rangoon and found it was four 
miles out of the town. So after two days there, I 
turned to my good friends the missionaries. The fact 
was I was ruining my eyes reading at night, not having 
a soul to speak to. I came here yesterday, Thanks- 
giving, and was taken to a Thanksgiving dinner for all 
the missionaries, and was received most cordially. The 
dinner was a royal one and I was as hungry as a wolf 
for the home dishes, but I created a painful feeling of 
surprise when I asked what the pumpkin pie was made 
of. I was very humble for sometime afterwards. I 



330 The Old World 

have a charming room with private bath which is the 
rule in the British Orient. 

Travehng and hotels in Burma are more expensive 

than in the Dutch colonies. While at the hotel, I asked 

a clerk how far it was to the celebrated pagoda and he 

answered : "Five minutes. " I thought he meant a five 

minutes' walk, so off I started, but asking a gentleman 

on the steps what direction to take, he replied: "I am 

going there and will take you if you wish. " I certainly 

did wish. We went in an elegant victoria and then I 

found that the five minutes meant behind a very fast 

horse. I enjoyed reseeing the wonderful collection of 

pagodas, temples, shrines, and ornamental structures 

of many kinds — a marvelous assemblage. Such carving 

is seen nowhere else in this world. I think the Burmese 

make a mistake in gilding it all, for it gives an artificial 

look, as if it were molded out of metal instead of being 

the product of years of patient handwork. However, it 

is very lovely. The pagodas rise high into the blue 

sky, with a background of superbly tall palms. I got 

quite interested in my companion. At first I hurt his 

feelings by saying: "You are scarcely fifty years of age, 

I should judge. " He was only forty-five. He told me 

of the death of his only child, a boy of eleven, but he 

said he and his wife had so many god-children they 

were able to fill their house with little girls. "And no 

boys?" I asked thoughtlessly. "That would be too 

painful," he replied. Now, isn't that sad? I thought 

of our beautiful boys, but I talked only of Mary and of 

her wise questions and he said: "You will always be 

happy with little Mary. " 

The difference between the English family of mission- 
aries at Ipoh and the Americans I have been with is 
very striking in the tireless energy of the Americans. 



Through Old Eyes 331 

They work so hard that I feel a great respect for them. 
This is a large girl's school. 

My next letter will be from Mandalay. I have been 
trying to find a copy of Kipling's poems. We passed 
by Moulmein without being able to see it. I want to 
understand how it could possibly look east to the sea 
when it is situated on the east coast of the Bay of Bengal. 
"The dawn coming up like thunder out of China cross 
the sea" must mean Indo-China, and yet I cannot see 
that it is over the sea. I think I shall have to go to 
Moulmein to understand Kipling's geography. These 
Burmese women certainly do smoke big cheroots. The 
gentleman told me to buy one and take it home to 
Mary, which I declined to do. Whenever I stopped to 
admire these fascinating Burmese women in their 
snowy jackets and brilliant-colored sarongs, he would 
turn his back and say it was more prudent to do so, 
for fear of offending the Burmese men. He says the 
men are drones and the women are the workers. The 
priests are very numerous and live on charity. I should 
think they would be a great tax on the community. 
Every worshiper buys flowers and offers them to 
Buddha after first praying with them in his hand. 

Mandalay,. Burma, 
December 6, 19 13. 

My dear Family : 

I reached Mandalay at eight p.m. on Monday and 
found Captain S. at the station with a servant to meet 
me. Everybody in this country expects me to travel 
with a servant except the missionaries, and it is quite 
mortifying to always have to explain that I do not need 
a servant, do not want one, wouldn't know what to do 
with one. Well, the captain brought me to this bunga- 



332 The Old World 

low where I found a few guests who left as soon as I got 
acquainted with them, and since then I have been alone. 
The captain said the hotel was so dirty that it was 
impossible, but though I have carefully concealed it 
from him, I shotild have preferred the hotel because I 
can always get on for a few days anywhere, and in the 
hotel I should have seen people and learned something 
from them, most probably. I should also have had the 
papers to read. As for cleanliness, I can employ a 
servant to sweep for me. The captain is a very busy 
man, and I fear he gives me his time at great sacrifice. 
Not many changes have taken place in Mandalay 
since Sedley and I were here. We had then the very 
great advantage of seeing the highest festival known to 
these pleasure-loving Burmese, that of the cremation of 
two of their most revered bonzes. The pleasure and 
entertainment their cremation gave their faithful 
devotees were enormous. I never saw people enjoy 
themselves so much. I believe the Burmese are the 
happiest people on the face of the earth. They are so 
smiling and gay, but I hear they make unreliable ser- 
vants, for whenever the days for their numerous festi- 
vals arrive, off they go without warning, as a matter of 
course, and if the festival is distant, they abandon 
the wages coming to them rather than miss the fun. I 
think I should employ them with the understanding 
that I should go with them to the festivals. Their 
gaiety is infectious, whereas the Indian servants every- 
where look so melancholy. I have been going about in 
the mornings with a guide and in the afternoon with 
Captain S. One morning I walked up Mandalay hill 
and counted 800 steps in the ascent. I counted them 
not only out of curiosity but to keep the guide from 
talking to me, counting aloud, of course. The view 



Through Old Eyes 333 

from the top is lovely, and the Burmese are making the 
hill wonderfully picturesque with pagodas and temples 
on the top and four flights of steps leading up from the 
four sides of the hill. These stairways are each cov- 
ered with a roof. 

One evening the captain took me to an open-air 
theater where an enormous crowd was listening to 
actors who caused continual merriment. They seemed 
to act very well without any prompter. When one 
exhausted himself, he would leave the front of the stage 
and take his place with the orchestra, whacking the 
gongs or other instruments. There were also young 
lady dancers who sang as they danced. They danced 
with far more energy than the Javanese. Their long 
sarongs were very tight around their hips and knees 
and made of pretty colored silk as were their jackets, 
which were ornamented with sparkling brilliants. 
When they had performed their part, they retired 
from the front stage, but still in sight of the audience 
took off their pretty clothes and folded them carefully. 
No seats were provided and I soon got very tired of 
standing, so we sent the driver in search of some kind 
of a seat, which I rented. Feeling very sorry for the 
captain, I let him have one extreme edge, and he being 
quite small we got on tolerably well. 

One afternoon I was invited to tea at the house of 
one of his friends. Major Gaskill, where I had a pleasant 
visit. The major told me that when he was a young 
officer he caught his servant beating his horse. He got 
the man in his room, with doors and shutters closed 
against witnesses, and then and there administered a 
first-class thrashing to him. He was cited before the 
court, but when the major's lawyer asked the man at 
what date the beating occurred, he naturally gave the 



334 The Old World 

wrong one, as the Orientals know nothing of our dates, 
whereupon the major easily proved an alibi and was 
advised to have the servant prosecuted and imprisoned 
for defamation. He was, however, too moderate to 
adopt this advice, which he could have done. In read- 
ing about the Indian labor troubles in South Africa, I 
saw that they, in accusing their masters of flogging them, 
were tripped up in the same way. I do not doubt that 
the floggings really took place and the poor ignorant 
creatures fell into the pitfall of dates which made them 
appear as perjurers, as they were declared to be by the 
interested parties. 

After my tea at the Gaskills', Mrs. G. took me to the 
Ladies' Club, and introduced me to a few of them. 
The captain has never put his foot in that club, says 
he hates to see idle women smoking and spending 
their time talking in clubs, but he is still smarting under 
the disappointment of his love affair, I imagine, but I did 
not dare mention this matter to him. Yesterday he 
took me to see his Punjabis. I was charmed with them. 
He called up one of his lieutenants, a Mohammedan, in 
a tall white turban, a yellow frock-coat trimmed with 
green, and white shoes. The man was strikingly 
handsome and very tall. I asked if the wonderful long- 
tailed coat was a uniform. It was not, but as the lieu- 
tenant was engaged only in drilling recruits, he was 
allowed to indulge a free fancy in the color and cut of 
his clothes. I put him through a thorough cross- 
examination, the captain translating. I wanted to 
know something of the customs of the Sikhs and the 
Mohammedans. I told him that the Moslems in 
Constantinople and Asia Minor did not observe any of 
the restrictions of caste and wanted to know how far 
those in India had adopted them. I asked, among other 



Through Old Eyes 335 

things, if he would eat with me. He explained his 
attitude in this matter quite at length, evidently much 
embarrassed by the question. He could not eat out 
of the same dish with me, he said, but he could cut a loaf 
of bread and give me half of it, a concession I did not 
value highly, though I did not want to eat out of the 
same dish with him either. The Mohammedans have 
taken on many of the caste prejudices of India, but here 
in Burma there is nothing of the kind, and so the people 
are happy. Still their Buddhism is mixed with much 
fear of demons whom they propitiate. They call them 
Nats and offer various things, including coins, before 
their images. Thus placated, these Nats will remain 
quite harmless for a while. The captain told the hand- 
some lieutenant to call up three specimen recruits, a 
Sikh, a Mohammedan, and a Dogra, all from the Punjab. 
He wished to see if I could tell them apart. I was only 
able to distinguish the Mohammedan by the red cap 
under his turban. The three men found the ordeal 
a trying one and looked as wooden and dead to all out- 
side impressions as they were able. They were recent 
recruits. As a grand finale, the captain had his men 
climb over a very high wall, which they did in such 
fine style that I wished there had been a whole brigade. 
He then said he would permit me to grant them a favor, 
so I requested a half-day's holiday, and as Saturday is 
a half -holiday, they are to have the whole day. I take 
the steamer this evening as it starts at a very early hour 
to-morrow. 

(All family letters on the Irrawaddy steamer and 
during the remainder of the Burmese trip were lost. 
The following are extracts from a letter to my 
brother.) 



336 The Old World 

S. S. Ellenga between Rangoon and Calcutta, 

December 21, 1913. 

Dearest Brother: 

My long trip to the frontier of Burma at Myit-Kyina 
was a fiasco, money and time thrown away, for I saw 
scarcely anything of the wild tribes who were said to 
throng into that distant outpost. It will no longer be 
an outpost now, as two British battalions have crossed 
into the debatable land between China and Burma to 
take possession of the headwaters of the Irrawaddy. 
They are seeking a natural boundary of mountains so 
as to secure Burma from any possible invasion from that 
quarter. The territory involved is 250 miles in length. 
I had a lonely visit to Myit-Kyina and was very glad 
to get back to Rangoon two days before my itinerary 
time, so that I could take this steamer yesterday. I 
was two days and two nights on the train on my return 
to Rangoon. I had to change cars at Mandalay where 
we stopped an hour. I happened to meet at the station 
Mrs. Gaskill, the friend of Captain S., who had invited 
me to an afternoon tea during my visit to Mandalay. 
She said: "We were looking for you to pass through on 
Thursday next, and the captain was coming down to 
bring you to my house to tiffin." I was glad to have 
met her so opportunely to prevent this bother to them 
both. Mrs. Gaskill introduced me to a charming lady, 
wife of Colonel Hurley, who was leaving Burma for 
service in the Punjab. She proved a most agreeable 
traveling companion. 

The American girls, the Ward-Denyses, were parti- 
cularly nice to me when I left the Irrawaddy steamer. 
They accompanied me to the train where I passed the 
night, as it was to start at a very early hour next 
morning, and I knew I should not be able to sleep tran- 



Through Old Eyes 337 

quilly on the steamer when it was necessary to get up 
before five o'clock. The young men who were paying 
attention to the girls accompanied me, of course, in 
order to be with them. One of them clambered on top 
of the car and lit the lamp, which I thought a remark- 
able feat to be performed without any previous intro- 
duction to the railway lamp business. Another had to 
fetch my luggage from a box car where it had been put 
for safe keeping before dinner. The captain too was 
sent back to the steamer in search of a candle, as it was 
doubted whether the young gentleman on top of the car 
could successfully perform the task allotted him. The 
girls pulled out the seats, unpacked my luggage, found 
the sheets and pillow case, and made up my bed, arrang- 
ing the window shutters so well that I slept till a late 
hour next morning. When they had done everything 
possible for me, these young people stood outside in the 
moonlight, and we had the gayest conversation till their 
father insisted on their returning to the steamer to go 
to bed themselves. They were simply lovely to me and 
all because they are warm-hearted young American girls. 
Altogether my trip on the Irrawaddy steamer was a 
great success, and I saw in the market at Bhamo many 
strange specimens of the wild men of that eastern 
frontier of Burma. I have met some charming Ameri- 
cans on this ship, of the kind I am proud to own as fellow 
countrymen. 

Calcutta, 
December 31, 1913. 

My dear Family : 

I am most comfortable here in this mission home where 
I find agreeable society. We arrived in Calcutta two 
days before Christmas and had a delicious Christmas 



338 The Old World 

dinner, at which everybody told anecdotes, so that we 
were a gay crowd. I have some friends at the principal 
hotel here and I had lunch with them one day. The 
hotel is crowded with guests. I met there a professor 
from Stanford and was told that he was in the room 
with six other men, each paying ten rupees. I have 
been doing a little sightseeing with these friends. We 
went to the museum and a Jain temple, and yesterday 
to the temple of Kali, the bloodthirsty wife of Siva, third 
god in the Hindoo trinity and called The Destroyer. I 
never saw such a swarming, groveling mass of humanity. 
The sick brought kids to sacrifice to Kali. The former 
looked as pitiful as their poor, tired, bleating com- 
panions. The sacrificial knife chopped off the heads of 
three kids at one stroke, inflicting a painless death on 
the little victims. At one moment we got into a nar- 
row passage between two of the temple buildings. On 
one side we could have had more or less of a view of the 
image of Kali but for the struggling swarm of yelling 
and gesticulating pilgrims who filled the sacred pre- 
cincts. Two men wishing to earn something tried to 
clear a vista for us to see the goddess. They pushed 
and thrust their skinny arms into the solid mass, dealing 
out blows which were returned by the recipients, and 
a free fight was imminent. The din of voices was 
absolutely deafening. Some money they got, though 
not so much as they demanded. We could not see the 
goddess, but we felt we should pay for the fight we had 
witnessed. After extricating ourselves from this nar- 
row passage, we looked at the pilgrims as they streamed 
out from the presence of Kali, every woman holding on 
to some man, father, brother, or son, and pouring 
earnest words into his ear. All wore the most concen- 
trated expression, perfectly oblivious to our presence 



Through Old Eyes 339 

and to our gaze. Many of the women wore nose pend- 
ants and nose rings. Their ears were full of holes 
whence dangled various earrings. They wore massive 
silver bracelets and anklets of both silver and gold. 
Coiild any government inspire them with confidence 
so as to get them to put their savings in a bank instead 
of on their persons, there would be an enormous influx 
of precious metals into circulation, but their wants are 
few, and jewelry is a passion with them. One of my new 
friends calls me "Aunt Mary." Her husband had a 
good joke on her. While in Darjeeling, she forgot my 
name and only knew me as "Aunt M^ry. " He laughed 
at her for getting so intimate with a stranger in three 
days' time on the steamer. It has been a long time since 
I have heard myself called "Aunt Mary, " and it sounds 
"mighty" sweet. 

Last night I had a call from a young gentleman to 
whom Ellen Bagby had written about me. She also 
wrote me to let him know when I arrived, but I had no 
idea of imposing my acquaintance on this young man, 
but I received a note from him through the consul, 
addressed to "Miss Ware, " asking to be allowed to call. 
We had many jokes at the dinner table on the subject 
of his disappointment in finding an old woman instead of 
a young girl. It was proposed to make the drawing- 
room so dark that I could play the r61e of a young lady. 
Indeed, we were all laughing about him when he 
arrived. I thought he was a Virginian, as I didn't 
know that my dear little Ellen knew any Englishmen, 
else I should have received him with more dignity, but 
I immediately told him of all of our jokes. Later when 
I understood that he was English I excused myself for 
my informality saying I should never have treated 
him so familiarly had I known his nationality. This 



340 The Old World 

seemed really to tease him, and he wanted to know 
if the English had not the same sense of humor as the 
Americans. I had to confess that we did not think so. 
His visit ended in my accepting an invitation to dine 
with him to-morrow, New Year's Day. 

Madame Lalaurette writes me that her husband is so 
delighted with British Malaya by Swettenham that 
he keeps it by his pillow and studies it in bed. An 
American gentleman whom I met over here got quite 
angry at the mention of Swettenham's name. He, it 
seems, was the governor of Jamaica at the time of the 
great earthquake 'and refused the proffered aid of our 
warship in so rude a manner that our government made 
representations to England which caused his recall. 
His history is a very fine one, notwithstanding, because 
he knew what he was talking about, but his manners 
may be bad. Really, we Americans have bullied the 
English so often that we should not be surprised at 
evidences of resentment from time tp time. 

I have just received letters from two of the Ward- 
Denys girls. I wish I had remained with them on the 
Irrawaddy steamer. They were very sweet and affec- 
tionate to me, which I think particularly lovely from 
young and pretty girls toward an old woman. 

Rajahmundry, North of Madras, 
January 7, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

On the first of January, I saw a splendid review of all 
the troops in Calcutta. The Pathans from the Pun- 
jab were superb in their red tunics and turbans. The 
governor's bodyguard was extremely picturesque, and 
the British redcoats are always effective. There was 
also a fine display of artillery. Near me sat an amiable 



Through Old Eyes 341 

English lady and her husband who explained to me 
what I did not understand. She listened also to my 
talk about my grandchildren, for I wished so much they 
could have seen this fine parade, and I returned the 
favor by listening with interest to her talk about her one 
little girl. That evening at half-past seven Ellen's 
friend came in a fine motor to take me to dinner and 
introduce me to some of his friends, very interesting 
people, but I had been going uninterruptedly all day and 
such a drowsiness came over me that I not only could 
not talk but really I could hear nothing. I could not 
rouse myself. When we got back to the mission house 
that night, we found the big gate locked securely and no 
amount of calling or knocking could rouse any one, so 
my young friend had to undertake the iron fence in his 
fine evening suit. I was thoroughly awake now and so 
uneasy lest that suit should split somewhere that I could 
not even smile at the absurdity of the situation. I fully 
expected to be helped over the fence myself, and the 
sharp iron points were not attractive looking to me, but 
the young man succeeded in rousing the gate-keeper and 
I got in without exposing my best dress to disaster. I 
decided I was a bad investment for that kind young 
man. 

Before leaving Calcutta, I received a letter from Ethel 
Moore's friend, Mrs. Morwood. In India, army doctors 
take officers' titles and rise in rank as an officer. Colonel 
Morwood is a surgeon, his wife was Miss Mary Bell, of 
Berkeley, Cal. Mrs. Morwood has invited me to pay 
her a visit. She lives between Delhi and Lucknow. 
She tells me also that the whole family will spend next 
summer in Cashmere. I was very happy to hear that, 
for I dreaded to go to that far-off land without knowing 
any one. I do hope she is going to like me, in which 



342 The Old World 

case she might invite me to join her party, but I am 
afraid to hope for such good fortune. 

After leaving Calcutta, I stopped first at Puri. It is 
a seaside resort for Calcutta people and also the 
home of the great miracle-working Juggernaut. When 
the great pilgrimage to the Juggernaut Temple takes 
place in the summer, one hundred thousand pilgrims 
arrive in Puri. In former times they suffered fright- 
fully from cholera and carried it back home with them, 
but the British Raj has stopped all that with its sanitary 
precautions. I went to the sanitarium recommended 
by Dr. Mitchell and found it a delightful place. The 
walks along the sea, with the surf rolling in and at 
intervals the fishermen drawing in their nets in the late 
evening, were so lovely, and I always found some com- 
panion, either among the nurses or the guests. The 
matron sent me in the nice carriage of the establishment, 
with one of the nurses as a guide to see the great temple. 
We were not permitted even to enter the outer enclos- 
ure, but from a roof opposite we could see into it, and 
the broad roadway of the enormous Juggernaut car was 
facing us. Though not a time of pilgrimage, there are 
always bustle and visitors at this shrine, but the great 
car is only brought out once a year. There are six 
thousand ministering priests and twenty thousand 
people dependent on this temple for their subsistence, 
and there is very great fanaticism among them. When- 
ever they asked for money, I argued with them, for I 
had an excellent interpreter in the trained nurse. I 
told the Brahman priest that I believed in reciprocity, 
that as they would not permit me to enter into their 
mud hovels I could not give them my money. We 
argued very good naturedly along these lines. I also 
argued with the Jogis. Jogi is the Hindoo ascetic, 



Through Old Eyes 343 

while Faquir is the same among the Mohammedans. I 
told them that work was the best prayer. They dis- 
agreed most decidedly with this view. They cover 
their bodies with ashes, but I saw none so emaciated as 
those Sedley and I saw in India in former years. I 
spent two charming days in Puri, the climate of which 
reminds me of the Egyptian desert, the sand is so 
deep and extensive, and the temperature so delightful. 
From Puri, I came here, having a letter of introduction 
to the lady doctor at the head of this hospital. I arrived 
at nine o'clock at night and found Dr. Rohrer at the 
station in her dog cart to meet me. I am much pleased 
with the quiet and comfort of this establishment. 
We are but few at table, which is well served, the 
cooking excellent. Yesterday, after showing me 
around, Dr. Rohrer took me for an interesting drive. 
We visited a big Eiu'asian family and saw the beautiful 
Godavari River, which is looked upon as sacred. 
Everywhere one sees the tall Palmyra palms outlined 
against the sky. The Eurasians are a great problem to 
the missionaries. I am told that, as a rule, they are 
inferior to both parents, European and native. They 
require a great deal of help, refuse to do any manual 
labor for fear of lowering themselves below the level of 
the Europeans. Native labor is, of course, very cheap, 
and the relatively high-priced European is not paid his 
salary to perform labor which a coolie or native can do, 
so the European does nothing with his hands, the 
Etu-asians likewise. The wives of these, not having 
their husbands' occupations, sink into an idleness which 
is very demoralizing. Where a mother busies herself 
with her children, it is different, but she is too apt 
to turn them over to the ayah. Of course the woman 
with intellectual tastes and resources can make her 



344 The Old World 

life more or less useful. Captain S. was very emphatic 
when he said: "I hate these idle women who hang 
around the clubs." Last night Dr. Rohrer took me 
to a big dinner in honor of a new arrival among the 
missionaries. These are all, with few exceptions, of 
German parentage or birth, and belong to the Lutheran 
Church, a Pennsylvania mission. We had a very good 
time. Everybody was very friendly to me when they 
heard I was a friend of Dr. Mitchell, for nearly all 
knew her personally. I start to-night to Guntur, the 
place where Dr. Mitchell lived in India. They are 
expecting me there, but I wish I had more time for each 
of these places. Two days, however, is all that I can 
give, as it is so late in the season. I attended Dr. 
Rohrer's Bible Class. It was in the Telegu language, so 
I understood nothing, but I watched the faces of the 
women squatted around us and they interested me. 
One of the children in the orphanage is a Brahman child, 
not quite three. She is an interesting little creature 
with fine features and seems to be a great pet. After 
the Bible class, her duty is to roll up the mats on which 
the people have sat and put them away. This she never 
forgets. The Eurasian family we visited yesterday had 
an interesting establishment. As the family is large, 
they employ a shoemaker and a tailor by the month. 
Both were busy making shoes and clothes. The sons 
and sons-in-law hold government jobs, the highest 
desire of the natives over here. The old lady holds 
patriarchal sway over the family mansion. Dr. Rohrer 
refuses to let me leave early this evening because I should 
have to wait hours at a wayside station. I am to be 
waked by the hospital head nurse and then driven to the 
station. Everybody is full of kindness and consider- 
ation for me. 



Through Old Eyes 345 

Vellore, South India, 

January 12, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

I wrote last from Rajahmundry where I spent two 
happy days and was made much of. I saw a betrothal 
in the hospital there which amused me very much. 
The man came with good recommendations and I was 
taken to see the first interview. They had never seen 
each other before, yet the bride entered without raising 
her head or eyes. She had very good features and 
wore the usual ornaments in her nose, her ears, and on 
her ankles. He was so pleased with her appearance 
that he literally danced around her, grinning delightedly, 
but she kept her head tucked down, a conduct rigor- 
ously prescribed by etiquette. I watched her closely 
but could not see the slightest upward glance at her 
betrothed. I was assured, however, by the ladies that 
she could have described not only his face but his dress 
as well. The wedding is to take place in May, and 
Dr. Rohrer is to give an entertainment to the bride's 
female friends. 

I had a good nap before I was waked to take the 
one-twenty A. M. train. When I arrived at Guntur I 
was given the warmest welcome for Dr. Mitchell's sake. 
Dr. Kugler could not take me into the building she 
occupies, the hospital, but Mr. Macauley met me at 
the station and took me to his house. His wife is one 
of the most attractive women I have ever met anywhere 
in my life. They have no children, but they are very 
busy with the orphans they are taking care of. Next 
day Dr. Kugler and the head nurse, Miss Fors, showed 
me over the hospital; both seem exceptionally capable 
women. I asked Miss Fors about her experience with 
the native and half-caste nurses. She says she could 



346 The Old World 

not run the hospital at all with native nurses. As soon 
as they are trained she lets them go. The Eurasians, 
however, are excellent, but she can never leave one of 
them in charge. If she does so, everything goes wrong. 
They are too severe with their subordinates and show no 
tact in dealing with inferiors. The native nurses never 
learn neatness and order and have to be chaperoned 
every time they leave the compound, so they are of little 
use. Dr. Kugler is a perfect marvel to me. She is 
past sixty, very good-looking, with a countenance 
that inspires respect and confidence. She performs all 
kinds of sturgical operations. A woman with an enor- 
mous tumor came while I was there. She looked dread- 
fully uncomfortable, but sat patiently waiting till she 
could be given some attention. Patience is the strong- 
est characteristic of the Oriental races. I was taken into 
Dr. Mitchell's study and made to sit in her chair. 
Everything is kept as much as possible as she left it, so 
much is her memory loved and revered in Guntur. I 
looked over the Infirmary book for last month and saw 
that eighty patients were the least number treated for 
any one day, but more often there were over a hundred. 
A certain Mary Ann and a certain Ida, who had been 
the proud recipients of Christmas cards from Dr. 
Mitchell, showed them to me with great satisfaction. 
We had dinner that night on an upper terrace by 
moonlight in imitation of a dinner given before Dr. 
Mitchell's departure when, the moon being full, she had 
read from the Bible by its light. My dinner did not 
have a full moon, and to save my life I couldn't tell what 
I was eating, but I didn't wish it otherwise. Then I was 
carried into the assembly room where all the women, 
European, Eurasian, and native were gathered, and 
I was told that I must give them a talk. I reaUy 



Through Old Eyes 347 

didn't know what to say, but I described Jerusalem, 
Nazareth, and Damascus to them and then my trip to 
the cedars of Lebanon. As I was taken by surprise I 
had no time to verify names, which I forget easily, but 
everybody seemed pleased. Later when they insisted 
on my speaking again, I told them of my interview with 
Yuan Shi Kai. 

Dr. Kugler is a marvelous woman, so full of energy 
and devotion to duty. In the midst of her busiest day 
a woman will come and ask for a prayer. She drops 
everything and cheerfully retires to pray with the poor 
woman. I was told of a Rajah, or rather a Zemindar 
(which means "rich land owner"), who, having lost 
his only son and a daughter, brought his sick brother 
and another little daughter to Dr. Kugler. The child 
had typhoid, both were very ill, and both were cured. In 
gratitude the Zemindar has built a hostel, and a bunga- 
low to accommodate himself and family when there 
is a sick member to be treated in the hospital. These 
two buildings are of brownstone and very substantial. 
He also pays the caretaker. I saw in this hostel in 
the late afternoon, relatives of the patients sitting on 
the veranda reading. All welcomed Dr. Kugler with the 
most cordial warmth. In one of the rooms of the main 
building, I was introduced to a beautiful Brahman 
lady who was there with a sister-in-law to watch over 
her. Her beauty was striking. I asked Dr. Kugler in 
vain for words in Telegu to tell this charming creature 
what I thought of her, but the doctor sternly refused to 
help me spoil the beauty. Miss Thomas took me to the 
big girls' school, a splendid institution, with big airy 
rooms, all of cut stone. There were girls of all ages from 
beginners to big students, all working well. I forgot 
to tell you that Dr. Kugler's friend, the Zemindar, is not 



348 The Old World 

only a Brahman of the highest caste but a poet of no 
mean ability. He is putting the four gospels into poetic 
form in the Telegu language, and the doctor gave me one 
of these little tracts which were printed in great numbers 
in honor of the marriage of his child daughter. This 
child marriage was put off till the last possible moment 
allowed by caste regulations in deference to his hospital 
friend's wishes. This Rajah Zemindar lives in Ellore. 

The Macauleys have an orphanage, a school, a car- 
penter's shop, and a printing press, all of course for the 
benefit of the natives. They are indefatigable in good 
works. Miss Thomas was a delightful companion in 
my sightseeing. She introduced me into a very interest- 
ing zenana where the ladies were all dressed in gauzy, 
colored garments with veils draped oh their heads. 
They served delicious refreshments for us, but I only 
accepted a little fruit. None of these ladies compared 
in beauty to the Brahman lady in the hospital. These 
Mohammedans seem dull and heavy, but we met their 
two bright boys outside who spoke to us in English. 
The English language seems to develop the faculties of 
these people amazingly. 

L. keeps asking if the ladies in Java wear veils. They 
do not. The Mohammedan religion in the Dutch col- 
onies is much modified. I heard of no zenana there, 
no five prayers a day, and the women walk the streets 
not only with their faces bare but arms and shoulders 
likewise. Only a band of cloth covers the lower part of 
the bust. In the Padang Highlands, the women not 
only wear no veils but they alone own the land. I have 
just received from the hotel keeper there a copy of a 
pamphlet written by a Dutch savant on the status of 
the women of this tribe. 

I left Madras yesterday, arriving here at eleven in the 



Through Old Eyes 349 

morning. As I had three or four miles to drive from the 
station, I engaged a "jhutka." This is a cart without 
springs, covered with a mat over a Hght framework 
of bamboo. No seat is provided. My luggage was 
put into this and then I sat with my feet hanging out 
behind. I had to hold on with both hands to the bam- 
boo frame, but the sensation of novelty made it endur- 
able. We drove through avenues of big tamarind trees 
with long lines of Palmyra palms in view. I see them 
now continually, crossing the plains of South India. 
These are called toddy palms because the sap makes 
toddy which is sold in the saloons, and the government 
derives a considerable revenue from it, I passed my 
time on the train reading the Current Opinion which 
Nellie sent me and for which I cannot thank her enough. 
It is my one source of information regarding American 
affairs. 

I reached Dr. Ida Scudder's home and hospital just 
as the family had seated themselves for the midday 
meal. I rejoiced to see the table loaded with fruit — 
great big custard apples in perfection. I never tasted 
them really delicious before. They are well named, for 
they taste just like very sweet and delicately flavored 
custard or cream. One was all I could eat, though 
I thought when I began that I should eat two. 

January 13, 1914. 

Yesterday Dr. Scudder took me to the Vellore fort 
in her motor, a lovely drive. The fort is now taken care 
of by the government and possesses not only historic 
interest, but in its enclosure is a very old Hindoo temple 
with beautiful gopuras and lovely carving. After din- 
ner she took me to see a Mohammedan family who have 
come here for medical treatment ; the patient, a young 



350 The Old World 

mother, seemed very ill to me and suffering greatly. 
She will be brought to the hospital to-day. There 
is a dislike to coming into the hospital among the 
zenana women, but this is being gradually overcome. 
When they have once enjoyed the cleanliness, order, and 
good nursing here, they become converts to hospitals 
for life. 

Dick Buck's letter was so amusing about my mil- 
dewed dress and scanty wardrobe that I simply shook 
over it. That mildewed dress has been thrown away. I 
hated to part with it after all its faithful service, and 
these Orientals will not wear our old finery as the col- 
ored people so obligingly do at home, so there is no one 
here to prolong the usefulness of old clothes. I see that 
Dick denies his words about my toilet which were as 
true as any he ever uttered, and moreover contain much 
of the philosophy of human society, which says: "By 
their clothes shall ye know them, and by their clothes 
shall they be judged. " I trust to find an anchorage for 
my old age where people may reply to the question: 
"Who is that queer old woman?" by the words: "Oh, 
that is old Mrs. Ware. We don't mind what she does, 
because we all know her, and in spite of her eccentrici- 
ties some of us love her. " 

I want to tell you, in order to be impartial all around, 
that a missionary in Rajahmundry told me that some of 
our men missionaries strike the natives. She said that 
one evening two of them came to her house and were 
laughing over an incident of the drive. They had met 
some carts driven by Mohammedans which blocked 
their way for a time and the fun was that they had lashed 
the drivers across their faces. She said on one occasion 
when she had gone with one of these men on a little 
excursion, her pleasure was all spoiled by his striking the 



Through Old Eyes 35 1 

servant who was waiting on them. She was so energetic 
in her remonstrances that he gave the man some money, 
and the latter would no doubt have taken more blows 
on the same terms, but what kind of character is that 
for a representative of our Savior among the heathen? 
The fact is that given the age-long meekness and sub- 
missiveness of these people, their utter ignorance and 
consequent stupidity, the immunity allowed for such 
offenses, and the weak character of some of our mission- 
aries, they sink into this forgetfulness of their high 
calling and are unworthy representatives, not only of 
Christ but of our country. I am sure this could not 
happen in the Philippines, for there a vigilant press, a 
vigilant law, and public opinion among the Americans 
prevent it. In remote India, white men of weak char- 
acter degenerate, "but the silent, sullen peoples will 
judge their gods and them. " 

I am very much interested in Emily's library work. 
I wish I could see Mark Twain's books for boys ex- 
cluded from boys' libraries. Their wit and humor blind 
people to the fact that they are highly demoralizing to 
youth. I myself have seen this effect most unmistak- 
ably, and does it not stand to reason that where the 
heroes lie and steal and 3^et are such charmingly funny 
heroes that they will have able imitators in these 
accomplishments? I believe that Mark Twain has had 
and is having a bad influence over our boys, making 
liars and thieves of many of them when he could have 
been such a noble influence in their lives. I feel like 
Zola when he wrote T Accuse, for Mark Twain's name is 
so honored everywhere and we Americans are so proud 
of his genius. 



352 The Old World 

Madura, 
January 20, 1914. 

My dear Family : 

The Scudders came originally from New York where 
the first missionary of the name was a practicing physi- 
cian. He gave up his practice in an enthusiasm for 
missionary work. A fourth generation of missionaries 
in the Scudder family is now preparing for the family 
vocation and always with a medical one among them. 
Dr. Scudder herself carried me to the train and provided 
me with a good lunch. At the last moment I heard 
her mention the name of Keator and found that the 
Mrs. Keator, from Philadelphia, whose acquaintance I 
had made on the ship is a friend of hers. I reached Pon- 
dicherry before six o'clock in the morning and getting 
into a '^ pousse-pousse" an odd-looking carriage pushed 
from behind by two men who never got out of a slow 
walk, I told them to take me to the best hotel. It was 
very dirty, very picturesque, and the table most excel- 
lent. France still owns several tiny colonies in India, 
and of these Pondicherry is the most important. It 
lies on the sea where the surf rolls in continually, so I 
judge the harbor as not very safe, but I am told it is 
unusually free from storms. I found the town, as it 
were, entirely given over to the peanut industry. In 
some places the sidewalks were covered deep with shelled 
peanuts, and men and women were busy packing them 
into bags holding 176 pounds each. At the wharfs I 
found trucks loaded with these bags, whence they are 
put on flat boats and carried through the surf to the 
ships in the offing. The wharf master told me that two 
million of these sacks were shipped to Marseilles 
last year to be made into oil by the best French meth- 
ods, and the trade was augmenting all the time, as the 



Through Old Eyes 353 

natives learned that it paid them better to buy their rice 
and put all their land in peanuts. I asked what had 
been their trade before peanuts had come to monopolize 
their commerce, and was told that Pondicherry had 
fine mills where cloth was woven, so I directed my creep- 
ing pushers to carry me to one of these mills. The 
slow ride was really pleasant through the long lines 
of cocoanut palms and tamarind trees. The mill was 
indeed very large, but it only produces coarse cloth 
manufactured for the natives of Madagascar. I was 
very courteously shown over the building and told the 
wages of the workers. Four and a half annas a day 
for the most skilled labor, then three, and so on down. 
An anna is two cents in our money. In the immense 
halls, filled with machinery working with deafening 
noise, the air filled with fine floating cotton fiber, were 
many women and children as well as men who all work 
from six to six with an hour off at noon. I found this so 
excessive that I told the clerk so, but I knew that no one 
employer would change this system for fear of the 
competition of the others. This is a matter for govern- 
ment interference, but the government is satisfied 
because the natives are eager for the work. More than 
the low wages, I objected to the women and children 
being in such an atmosphere and subject to such long 
hours of monotonous toil. It is killing to mind and 
body. 

Tanjore, South India. 

I had written to Tanjore to the Lutheran mission and 
on reaching that place, I found a nice conveyance and 
pair of ponies waiting for me. It was before six o'clock 
A. M., and not very light. When I reached the house, I 
understood, of course, that the mistress wished me to 

as 



354 The Old World 

take possession of my room, so I asked the servants 
where it was. To every question they repHed by point- 
ing upstairs, so finding no one in the lower part of the 
house I went up where I frightened a young woman 
nearly out of her wits. She was clothed only in one 
garment and that not a gown. She turned and fled 
into the room closing the door behind her. I ap- 
proached and said : * ' Does an old woman terrify you so 
much?" She opened a crack cautiously and said in 
broken English: "Your room is downstairs," so I went 
down and found it. After breakfast I was taken to the 
Rajah's palace, now reverted to the English government. 
Before the last Rajah died, having no heir, he got twelve 
young women together and married them all. These 
being widows, the government had to provide for them 
out of the ample estate. Last year the last of these 
Maharanis died and now the English have the bulk of the 
property. The coronation room was quite interesting 
by reason of the many portraits of the Rajahs dating 
back to 1600. There is also an extensive library, cases of 
Sanskrit, Pali, English, and French arranged quite 
methodically. Under "History" I saw a large book en- 
titled The History of the Horse. I opened it and found it 
was written by a sportsman and not by a scientist. I 
was taken to the church of the early German mis- 
sionary, Schwartz, who left such an undying and sweet 
memory of himself in this region. He died in 1798. 
In this church is the finely sculptured bas-relief rep- 
resenting his death, with his disciple, the Rajah, 
standing by. Schwartz's character seems to have been 
so ideally beautiful that he exercised the most mar- 
velous influence on high and low and was employed as 
negotiator at the courts of princes and potentates. 
My host and hostess were Russian subjects from the 



Through Old Eyes 355 

Baltic provinces. I had no idea the Baltic provinces 
were intensely patriotic to the Russian government, so 
I passed some strictures on that government. They 
defended the Czar most warrrfly, saying he was simply 
lovely in every respect. "A little weak in character?" 
I suggested. ' ' Oh, yes, that is true, but that is because 
he is so amiable and good. We have so much more 
freedom than our German neighbors in the Prussian 
states. Yes, the government did forbid our German 
language in the schools at one time, but when the 
revolution occurred, it was restored to us. All of us 
respect and love the Czar. You have no idea how he 
is beloved by the people. But his mother! She is the 
worst woman in the world. You cannot conceive of her 
wickedness. She doesn't want the little Czarevitch to 
come to the throne; she wants her own son to be the 
heir, so she tried to poison the little Czarevitch and 
has ruined his health. The poor Czarina watches over 
her son night and day to save him from his grand- 
mother. The Czarina has lost her reason on this 
account. Such is the dreadful wickedness of the poor 
Czar's mother." This talk interested me because I 
could see the desire of the ignorant masses to find some 
convenient person to blame for the weaknesses and mis- 
fortunes of the Czar. I told them that if it were not for 
their powerful German neighbors, they would have been 
sacrificed as were the inhabitants of Finland and 
Poland, who had no powerful protecting nationality to 
stand by them. 

It was the festival of the Hindoo New Year, and I 
asked my host to take me to see any procession that 
might take place. They had never done this them- 
selves, fearing to set a bad example, but to gratify me, 
we went after dinner into the village. We called first 



356 The Old World 

on one of the patrons of the school. Though himself a 
Hindoo, he spoke English very well. I asked him if 
they worshiped the cow because of its great usefulness. 
"Not at all," he answered, "there are other animals 
more useful, such as the" sheep, the goat, and many 
others. We worship the cow because Krishna loved it 
more than any other animal. " This was highly satis- 
factory reasoning. Krishna is one of their incarnations 
of Vishnu and the favorite god. The legends about him 
represent him as having numerous wives and children 
not to speak of sweethearts. He is peculiarly the god 
of the lower classes. We visited another house where 
the family were boiling their new rice in new pots in 
honor of the new year. This was not done in the 
kitchen, else we could not have seen it, but in the big 
living room. Still I did not approach too near the 
boiling rice knowing their superstition about my 
unclean presence. All the old earthenware pots and 
vessels are broken at the New Year's festival and new 
ones are bought. All along the route and at the fairs 
I saw people buying loads of earthenware for the new 
year. They must be very cheap to be so universally 
broken and replaced. There is a regular ritual about 
the boiling of the rice on this day, and they look in it for 
propitious signs for the coming year. The signs were 
good in this instance, for there were cries of joy when 
the pot boiled over. The women watching the pot were 
all loaded with jewelry. I have seen one wearing fifteen 
heavy earrings in one ear and fourteen in the other, the 
ear being plentifully pierced all around. Savings banks 
have not taken root in this land. After this visit we 
went to see the procession. The cows had all been 
scrubbed in the tanks and ponds the day before, their 
horns painted a variety of colors and tipped with brass 



Through Old Eyes 357 

or copper. I had seen them being washed. In the 
procession were only seven cows and some calves, but 
the rich Hindoo ladies had sent their fine embroidered 
sarongs to spread over them and they wore garlands of 
marigold flowers and buds. The parade was very 
picturesque, the Hindoos in white robes leading the 
sacred animals, but my good missionary friends were 
wretched. They slunk on the outskirts of the crowd 
and tried to hide themselves while I walked about 
among the cows and Hindoos. They were begging me 
to go home the whole time. I made a last appeal to 
them to let me be pagan for just a little while. The 
people looked so happy I longed to follow them, but 
the missionaries were so uncomfortable that I had to 
go home with them. I talked to them very earnestly 
about introducing athletic sports among their pupils, 
for this people whose whole attention is turned to 
marriage from early childhood is physically feeble and 
enervated. They listened to me attentively and said 
they would think of my words, for the criminal class, 
that is the robber or thief caste, has been put under the 
care of this mission. 

I have been warned repeatedly about the crows of 
India but, forgetting it, I put my hairbrush, which I 
had washed, on the high cross-beam over the well. The 
crows naturally thought it was put there for them, and 
they either threw it into the well or carried it off. 

From Tan j ore I went to Trichinopoly where I was 
met by Miss Swan, an English missionary whom I had 
met among the faithful at Guntur. I spent two charm- 
ing days at her bungalow and as usual wanted to stay 
longer. She took me the first afternoon to the Trichino- 
poly rock, that beautiful and historic rock which rises 
so abruptly out of the level plain. The steps are so 



358 The Old World 

steep it is quite a task to get to the top, but I managed 
it, and read on the spot of the dreadful sieges and counter 
sieges between the French and EngHsh for the possession 
of this fortress. As Miss Swan was very busy, she had 
to turn me over after this to a young EngHsh girl, Miss 
Hindley. Next morning we drove out to the great 
temple of Sri Rangam. On our way to this temple, we 
passed through the fort and saw the house that Clive 
occupied about the year 1752. Near the temple was a 
stream of running water and in it were many bathers 
of both sexes. Many were scrubbing themselves thor- 
oughly and cleaning their teeth. Some were washing 
their clothing, others praying to the sun, and many were 
scouring their shining brass bowls. This river scene 
was so lively and pretty that I did not wish to leave it 
to go into the temple. I told Miss H. that I should 
like to see some of the temple dancing girls, or, as they 
are called, Nautch girls. These temples in south In- 
dia get considerable revenue from what we call white 
slavery. It is peculiarly revolting in being carried on to 
augment the revenues of their priests. We found a great 
festival going on in the temple. We then went to see 
one of the temple girls who was ill and found others 
with her. They were not expecting us and were dressed 
dowdily. They sang for us and showed pleasure in our 
visit. They sent out to buy sweetmeats to refresh us, 
but luckily we got away before they arrived. I wanted 
to see them dance dressed in their best clothes, but Miss 
H. said it would be out of the question for missionaries 
to countenance such a thing even in private, so I said 
no more about it. Miss H. told me she had bought a 
baby, only twelve days old, from its mother who, for 
want of means, was on the point of selling it to the 
Brahman priests to be brought up as a temple girl. 



Through Old Eyes 359 

The priests buy them at all ages, taking advantage of 
the poverty of the mothers. They are often illegitimate, 
or the children of widows who are not permitted to 
remarry. When I consider the sordidness, filthiness, 
and ignoble lives and emblems of the Hindoo gods and 
contrast the clean lives and useful labors of our mission- 
aries, especially that noble band of American women, 
I feel that in India I am certainly a convert to missions. 
In China and Japan, ancestor worship brings with it 
many practical benefits and virtues. Still, strange to 
say, these inoffensive Hindoos seem patient, gentle, 
and good in spite of their religion. I lock up nothing 
here and leave doors and windows open, but nothing 
is ever touched. 

I took the most affectionate leave of Miss Swan 
Sunday morning and came on to Madura. Before 
leaving I went to the chapel. All present were natives, 
minister, organist, choir, and congregation. The minis- 
ter wore the white surplice of the Church of England. 
I looked to see if he were barefooted but he wore red 
slippers. The full white draperies looked well on his 
dark skin. The music rose sweet and clear and there 
was such an atmosphere of peace and good will that it 
brought me a feeling of tranquil happiness. At Madura 
I came to Mrs. William Wallace's and found them 
waiting lunch for me. Mrs. Wallace suited me from 
the first moment and so did the four children. The 
lunch was excellent, and my room contained everything 
that could add to my comfort. That afternoon we 
went to service and afterwards took a walk about the 
compound, stopping in front of the missionaries' houses 
and chatting here and there with many pleasant ladies. 
We carried a lantern, for Mrs. Wallace said no one must 
be without a light in India during the night for fear of 



360 The Old World 

the "puchis. " In India all objectionable insects and 
reptiles are called "puchis." She charged me to keep 
my lantern burning all night. I went over the school 
building and the principal told me the EngUsh govern- 
ment had given them 2000 rupees to buy scientific 
apparatus. I was very glad to learn that they were 
giving scientific instruction, for that alone can kill the 
microbe of superstition. 

Carmichael Home, South India, 
January 22, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

I took a night trip to this place in a bullock cart, 
lying on a comfortable mattress encased in a white 
cover and laid on straw. I was told the distance was 
about thirty-five miles. I started at nine last night 
and reached here at seven this morning. I had been 
told that tigers infested the neighboring hills but only 
came down to attack cattle, not human beings. This 
information seemed satisfactory when given during 
daylight hours and in a comfortable house, but during 
the night vigils on the road it seemed highly unsatis- 
factory. I had heard that robbers also infested this 
lonely road, but all ended peaceably, and I should have 
had enough sleep but for the shouting of the driver to 
his bullocks. This may have been to keep up his 
courage. Before day when I was sleeping soundly, he 
woke me shouting at the top of his voice in my ear and 
made some observations in Tamil which I could not 
understand. I thought of course we had arrived, and 
when I found we were jogging on as usual, I was so 
provoked that I am ashamed to say I understood the 
state of mind which prompts foreigners in India to 
beat the natives. I could not fall asleep again. 



Through Old Eyes 361 

Miss Carmichael has a beautiful face, though her 
first youth is past. Her eyes alone would give beauty 
to almost any face. The ladies of this Home all dress 
in the white draperies so attractive in India. When 
Miss Carmichael carried me over a part of the Home 
this morning the little toddlers all ran to her with out- 
stretched arms calling out, "Mother, Mother," and 
she sat down on the floor and let them pile themselves 
on her lap. The children are bathed every day; their 
skins are fine and their hair very soft and glossy. They 
are so pretty that one likes to pet them. They are 
bought very young to prevent them falling into the 
hands of the priests to be trained up as Nautch dancing 
girls. In this Home they are taught, among other things, 
to make very pretty baskets. I bought one of these for 
$2.50 wishing to make a small contribution to the 
institution. It was started in 1904 and a few of the 
girls are now big enough to be useful. 

Palamcottah, 
January 23, 1914. 

Before leaving yesterday evening for my return night 
trip to Palamcottah, Miss Carmichael took me over 
the rest of the Home. There are fifty children under 
five years of age and one hundred between five and ten. 
The little ones were made to play games for me. The 
ladies have composed all kinds of rhymes relating 
to every conceivable subject interesting to children. 
These are set to familiar tunes and sung with gestures 
and more or less acting by them. It is an admirable 
method of teaching a language, for these children with 
their Hindoo nurses (they can speak English, however) 
all speak and understand our language most wonder- 
fully for their ages. While some of the children were 



362 ■ The Old World 

singing and acting for me, a band of them were seated 
close together on a long bench, wearing only a loin cloth 
for raiment. They looked just like half-picked birds 
on a perch. These were the very small ones, but they 
listened attentively and were learning insensibly all 
the words by heart. Many of these children are of 
Brahman parentage, with very refined features, and are 
very pretty. It struck me with astonishment that 
among 150 children not one was sick and none whose 
nose needed wiping. They all sleep on mats on the 
verandas, except the infants who are put in white cloth 
hammocks hung from the veranda ceiling. While 
making the rounds the children would call out to Miss 
Carmichael, "Kiss me Mother," and they all got kisses. 
Late in the afternoon when the smaller ones were put 
to bed, Miss Carmichael asked me to talk to some of the 
bigger ones gathered around her in one of the rooms. 
She said: "Tell them about your travels in Greece, for 
they are studying Greek history." I had been telling 
her, apropos of the beautiful oleanders in her garden, 
that the oleander was the Greek laurel called by them 
Daphne and used to crown the victors in the Delphic 
games, while at Olympia only a sprig of the sacred olive 
tree was given, and at the Nemean games a wreath of 
parsley. I did not care to teach the children but pre- 
ferred relating anecdotes of my grandchildren to amuse 
them. They understood all that I said, and when I 
told of Pete and the daffodils, there was general 
laughter and cries of, "Oh, auntie, tell that story again. " 
Miss Carmichael has no government aid for her school. 
It is supported entirely by voluntary contributions. 
She refused government aid because there were condi- 
tions attached, and she wishes the school conducted 
purely in the interest of Christian religion to form 



Through Old Eyes 363 

teachers and propagators of the faith. Her own faith 
is as a great rock, unshakable. She never doubts that 
contributions will come in when they are needed, for 
this she trusts to prayer. She is making so many 
children happy that I hope her faith may never be 
deceived. I got her to give my driver most minute 
instructions before departing at nine o'clock for my 
return night drive. He was not to shout or speak to 
me under any circumstances. This seemed to depress 
him greatly, and he groaned frequently being con- 
vinced that if he spoke to me loud enough I could be 
made to understand his remarks. I might have slept, 
but my head was full of all I had seen of that little band 
of devoted workers so far away from human succor. 
One of them had her wrist badly broken and was forced 
to drive thirty miles to get it set. On her return, imme- 
diately after the operation, she went to her work 
because she couldn't be spared. 

In speaking of Trichinopoly I forgot to mention that 
I visited the tank in which Bishop Heber was drowned 
in 1826. At the church and parsonage, built by the 
missionary Schwartz in 1766, I read the inscription on 
the porch saying that Bishop Heber had made his last 
address there to a large assemblage of natives who 
thronged the compound. The Bishop is supposed to 
have over-exerted himself, as he had baptized and 
confirmed many converts, after which the crowd 
demanded to hear him speak. He went then into the 
little bathing pool on one side of the bungalow and was 
never seen alive again. When I visit the old church 
cemeteries of India I am always struck by the youth- 
fulness of those who were laid to rest in them at that 
early period. No sanitary laws were understood, no 
one dreamed of the danger in water or milk, or in the 



364 The Old World 

insect world. I remember as a child when we went in 
the woods for a walk we drank any water we found. 
No one thought of doing otherwise and, of course, it 
was much more dangerous in India. 

I asked Miss Swan to teU me something about the 
thief caste. She had suffered at their hands, for they 
are permitted to live in Trichinopoly and provide night 
watchmen for the houses. She was eloquent in de- 
nouncing them and their ways. They got angry with 
one of her Bible women and carried off her bullock 
which she only recovered after several months, nearly 
dead of starvation, and after having spent thirty-five 
rupees in rewards for its recovery. I asked Mr. and 
Mrs. Wallace about them. While Mr. Wallace was 
explaining that they were not allowed to remain in 
Madura and therefore were not such a nuisance in that 
city, Mrs. Wallace interposed, "And yet they are such 
honest people." From all their talk I gathered that 
they are something like the early Highlanders, good 
cattle lifters and raiders but very loyal, and faithful to 
their engagements. 

(One of the letters was here lost.) 

Calicut, Malabar Coast, 
February 2, 19 14. 

My dear Family: 

I wrote last from Quilon in Travancore, where, in the 
travelers' bungalow I made the acquaintance of Mr. 
Vieyra, Secretary of the Maharajah. He gave me such 
a pressing invitation to visit Trivandrum, the capital, 
and be the guest of his family that I could not resist it. 
Travancore is the extreme southwestern state of India 
reaching to Cape Comorin. We took the motor bus 



Through Old Eyes 365 

that afternoon for the beautiful drive of four hours 
through shady forests of cocoanut pakns, avenues of 
big trees, and paddy fields, villages and native huts 
everywhere. I was charmingly received by Mrs. and 
Miss Vieyra and spent three very happy days with 
them. They live in luxury in a house built for them 
by the Maharajah's government. The table was very 
choice and my tastes were noticed and respected at 
every meal. I enjoyed everything hugely. Opposite 
their house were the public gardens and museum. I was 
taken over the gardens twice and saw birds I had read 
about but never before seen, the great gorgeous hom- 
bill and the snake bird the most striking. When the 
latter lifts its small head to look around from a tree 
or shrub and stretches its neck slowly out the illusion is 
perfect. If one did not see the body one would believe 
it to be a snake. It contracts its neck into a kind of 
pouch. On the ground when it can be seen well it is a 
large-bodied bird with handsome plumage. The horn- 
bill is grand; such a curious bill with roof -like piece 
of horn over it, the plumage very fine in color and 
texture. The big ourang-outang was in disgrace and 
confined in a strong iron cage. Someone had thrust a 
stick into his big roomy abode and he had promptly 
used it as a lever to break down the weaker parts and 
so procure his freedom. He was caught at this and more 
strictly confined until his cage could be repaired. He 
looked sadly in need of a bath, his hands and face 
quite dirty. I gave him some chocolate. After putting 
it into his mouth to soften it, he took it out and un- 
wrapped the silver paper and then ate it. He is un- 
usually large. Mr. Vieyra is director of the gardens and 
lets the ourang-outang out of his cage from time to 
time. On these occasions it takes a number of men to 



366 The Old World 

carry him back, like a drunken sailor, struggling and 
kicking. A very large black bear was the biggest one 
I ever saw. He hated me particularly, and as soon as 
he would catch sight of me would spring with all four 
paws clutching the bars and utter loud, menacing cries 
which were truly terrifying. Mrs. Vieyra told me that 
one night when her husband was away two of these 
fierce bears got out and came on her veranda. The 
ladies barricaded doors and windows and screamed for 
help, but till daylight no one dared to come. Then 
some soldiers arrived. One of the bears had wandered 
away from the veranda and fallen into a pit. This was 
the one I saw. The skin of the other lies on the floor of 
one of the Vieyra reception rooms. Mr. Vieyra pro- 
cured me an interview with the Maharajah of Travan- 
core at seven o'clock one morning. These early hours 
are chosen because he is obliged to purify himself after 
such interviews before he can eat or drink, being a 
Hindoo of high caste with the rank of a Brahman. I was 
sent everywhere in the Vieyra carriage with footman 
and driver in livery. No one had told me, however, 
that the Maharajah would receive me himself at the 
door when I alighted from the carriage. Now, at that 
moment it came over me with consternation that I had 
forgotten my visiting cards. This so overwhelmed me 
that I thought of nothing else, for had I not put Yuan 
Shi Kai's palace in a state of stupefaction at a similar 
lapse of memory? I was inwardly abusing myself 
roundly when I perceived the most courtly and gentle 
old man standing" near the door. My passing thought 
was "the Maharajah has the most courtly old servitor," 
but fearing lest he should torment me for my visiting 
card, I ignored his presence and turned away from him. 
Not knowing, however, which direction to take, I had 



Through Old Eyes 367 

to address myself to him and then noticed that he was 
holding out his hand. The enormity of my conduct 
came over me with a sudden flash, I was profuse in 
my apologies, but needless to say, I could not regain 
my mental equilibrium. A prince so respected by the 
English for his pure and noble character and his person 
held sacred by his subjects to be mistaken for a common 
servant! Everybody was horrified when they heard 
the tale, and Mr. Vieyra said: "That comes from his 
Highness' s modesty and wishing to be so simple in his 
manners. He should have someone to receive his 
guests and usher them into his presence." I tried to 
make the Maharajah smile, but only a faint reflection 
of one passed over his face when I said: "I met your 
prime minister on the beach yesterday evening. He is 
a man who knows when to laugh and when to be serious 
too. Your Highness knows well how to choose your 
counselors, for I know two of them." I said to him 
later: "If I make a very poor impression on your 
Highness, I beg of you not to mention that fact to Mr. 
Vieyra, for he feels personally responsible for me, and it 
would be a great mortification to him. " I was discreet 
enough to remain a very short time, but on rising to go 
the Maharajah was pleased to show me a rare cabinet, 
a Japanese one. Now I should have preferred a Tra- 
vancore cabinet and not one from Japan, but I held my 
tongue. I said among other things: "There is one 
thing that does not please me in this beautiful and 
happy land where your Highness is doing so much for 
your subjects in all kinds of public improvements — 
roads, schools, hospitals and sanitation, — and that is 
that one of your Highness's fine sons cannot succeed 
you one day on your throne." He turned away his 
head deprecatingly at this, for he is very conservative, 



368 The Old World 

and Travancore has the custom and immemorial usage 
of succession through females. Having no sister, the 
Maharajah adopted, years ago, two nieces who had each 
a son but they died on reaching man's estate. Now he 
has adopted two distant female relatives as nieces. 
The elder is the Ranee, but she has no child. The 
younger, who is a little vixen, I hear, has given birth to 
a son, an heir to the throne. Mr. Vieyra told me the 
Maharajah, the prime minister, himself, and some other 
officials were all in the hall awaiting the birth of this 
child. When it was brought out on a golden salver, 
the Maharajah put one hundred gold sovereigns on the 
tray as his gift to the mother. 

Mr. Vieyra gave me a curious book which shows the 
struggle these people are going through to adapt their 
matriarchal system to modem conditions. I may send 
it to Sedley as a curiosity. Mr. Vieyra gave permission 
for me to ask his Highness for one of his photos, and he 
has sent me a perfect beauty in his Durbar costume, but 
in consequence of not having left my card, the Mahara- 
jah wrote: "I do not know the name of the lady who 
called this morning, but you (Mr. V.) will give her the 
photograph." When I called at the Residency, Mrs. 
Forbes, wife of the Resident, said it was perhaps well 
that I forgot my cards for I might have given one to 
the Maharajah to carry to his master. The mistake was 
bad enough for an Eastern potentate ! 

The British Residents at the native courts have very 
beautiful homes, such taste and beauty in the furnish- 
ings, such spaciousness, and so many costly objects to 
interest one while waiting in the receiving rooms. 
From the Residency I went to call on the Prime Minis- 
ter who had asked Mr. Vieyra to bring me. I had a 
jolly visit there. He is a great laugher and shows 



Through Old Eyes 369 

willingly his fine teeth. All around the room were 
portraits of his predecessors. 

While I was still in Quilon with Mr. Vieyra, he 
received a dispatch from an official who had charge of 
an Egyptian prince who came to Travancore with a 
letter of introduction from General Kitchener. The 
Prince had gone out on a hunting expedition for big 
game. The dispatch said: "One of the guide's horses 
is sick, send veterinary, also bundles of grass, the Prince 
will not drink anything but champagne." Besides 
this very fastidious Egyptian prince, the Maharajah 
had some distinguished English guests in his guest- 
house whom he had invited to pay a visit to Trivandrum 
I could but think that hunting in tropical forests was 
calculated to produce thirst, and I wondered if the 
Prince drank champagne only in his home in Cairo, and 
if so, if he were sent to Trivandrum for his own or his 
family's benefit. I had very decided opinions about 
this Egyptian prince and expressed them freely, which 
made Mr. Vieyra laugh. I said: "The land is infested 
with rats. They came in my room each night at 
Quilon and as Travancore lies on the water highway 
between Bombay and Ceylon, one infected rat could 
spread the plague throughout the country. The money 
spent on this worthless Egyptian prince would pay for 
the killing of thousands of rats and possibly avert a 
great calamity." Mr. Vieyra said he recognized the 
danger from rats, but I presume they are not in the 
habit of dealing with a question until the emergency 
arises, and I could make no impression by my words. 
One day while walking over the golf links with Mr. 
Vieyra, I said: "I really believe I am growing accus- 
tomed to the Indian sun for I feel perfectly comfort- 
able at this moment." He laughed and on looking 
34 



37Q The Old World 

around I saw one of his servants holding an umbrella 
very adroitly over my head. A flock of sheep are kept 
on these golf links to keep the grass down, but they are 
never allowed to be killed, for the natives imitate their 
ruler in being strictly vegetarians. The Vieyras were 
extremely kind to me, which I can never forget. Mrs. 
V. paints on silk gauze or fine muslin and you have no 
idea how wonderfully the little wreaths of painted 
flowers add to the beauty of her daughter's dresses and 
hats. It is the most useful amateur painting I have 
yet seen. 

One morning early Mr. V. took me to a typical native 
home in which two families lived, a brother's and a 
sister's. The man showed us around, but he could not 
accompany me to his sister's apartments, said it would 
be contrary to their customs. These people are Nairs 
(Nayars). He took us to an old house in an adjoining 
compound where his parents had lived and worked their 
way up in the world. It was interesting to see that he 
kept this old house as a monument to them. Near this 
house was a large flat stone to serve as an altar on 
occasions. He said all cremations were performed in 
one corner of the compound (those of his family). He 
pointed out another and not too distant corner of the 
premises and said: "That corner belongs to the 
serpents. We treat them well and they treat us well." 
"Have you cobras there?" I asked. "Oh, yes, but I 
have never seen very big ones among them, but I have 
seen them there since I was a boy. We feed them from 
time to time and they never harm us. " " But, " I said, 
"if you tread on one in the dark, would it not forget 
the good treatment?" "Oh, they do us no harm," he 
reiterated. (Cobras are said to be deadly from the 
time they leave the shell.) His brother-in-law is re- 



Through Old Eyes 371 

puted to cure snake bites and dog bites. Mr. Vieyra 
said he saw him treat a girl who had been bitten by a 
snake, not a cobra. He took a live fowl and scratching 
off a portion of the skin applied it to the bite. When the 
fowl died he took another. The girl got well, though 
she remained some time in a comatose state. When I 
heard that the man, who now has scruples about 
taking life in any form, refuses to use fowls any longer 
for his snake-bitten patients, treating their wounds 
with pieces of squash, and trusting more to his prayers 
and incantations than to this vegetable remedy, I felt 
no longer any confidence in him. While I was looking 
at the house and premises, this man was treating a dog- 
bitten woman, pressing a piece of squash on the wound 
and rubbing her head with his other hand, mumbling 
prayers the while. Unlimited patience seemed to 
possess both healer and patient, so there was no use 
trying to see the end of it. I left them both entirely 
engrossed, she with perfect faith in the result. My 
three happy days seemed all too short when I took the 
motor bus to return to Quilon, whence I was to proceed 
to Cochin through the Back Water Channels — a 
beautiful river-like highway with openings here and 
there into the sea. Mr. Vieyra had charged an official 
in Quilon to see that I got a very good "wallam, " a 
kind of sampan, and this gentleman had promised to 
provide me with a comfortable chair and send his own 
boy ' ' to accompany me as far as the steamboat land- 
ing, which he did. I started very early next morning 
from the bungalow, but unfortunately I had taken a 
very bad cold in the motor bus the preceding evening. 
The chair was comfortable and the boy a good one. My 
"wallam" was clean and roomy, the floor covered with 
clean mats, and I had two good rowers. These boats 



372 The Old World 

have their roofs in sections, the middle one can be 

pushed aside leaving an opening over the center of the 

boat. The scenery was lovely, the Back Water or - 

lagoons now widening into lakes, now narrowing into 

canal-like channels, on the banks a thick growth of 

cocoanut palms, many leaning far out over the stream 

in an effort to escape the throng of their cbmrades; 

native huts and villages on every side with now and 

then a pretty bridge over the narrowed channel. My 

boy's English was very limited and exercised mostly to 

express disapproval of my to him peculiar tastes. I 

wanted to get out at the pretty bridges and walk ovev- 

them, which he could neither understand nor approve 

of, and when we approached very near the sea, my 

desire to walk along the shore where the waves chased 

my feet seemed to hirn rather to betoken a disordered 

brain. The people were mostly engaged in rope making, 

for which purpose they use the cocoanut fiber. The 

shells with the fiber on them are soaked for months 

in the lagoons, then pounded with wooden mallets. 

When it is then pulled to pieces, it makes a kind of tow. 

I saw where the natives had left their work, and taking 

up a mallet I proceeded to wield it vigorously. After 

the first pounding, water can be wrung out, after the 

third the fiber can be pulled apart and shaken when 

much vegetable matter falls out of it. It then dries 

rapidly and is ready to make into rope. I considered 

that I had learned a trade and the natives enjoyed 

seeing me work. Even the boy was pleased at the 

sensation I created, but I felt very badly and soon gave 

up sightseeing to go to bed. I had three folds of the 

heavy steamer rug and four of the heavy army blanket 

laid on the matting, but I felt, to my surprise, as though 

I were lying on the naked boards. I had shawls also 




MAHARAJAH OF TRAVANCORE 



Through Old Eyes 373 

and a pillow, nevertheless I was so uncomfortable that 
I spent my time turning over. My flesh was sore when 
I took the steamer next morning. After twenty-four 
hours or more in the "wallam," I was afraid to sit out- 
side in the wind, so I remained in the cabin which was 
crowded with native first-class passengers, who were 
all very polite to me. I ate sugar-cane all day, for I had 
an indigestion the day before which gave me a distaste 
for the food I had brought from the bungalow. I gave 
this to the boy, paid his way back, and gave him a 
liberal fee, also to the boatmen. I was all day in the 
little steamer, reaching Cochin at five o'clock where I 
took two rickishaws to hold me and my luggage and 
started to see the city before nightfall. The synagogue 
of the white Jews interested me. It was Saturday, and 
two young men, hearing I wanted to see it offered, to 
show it to me. They were extremely polite. The floor 
is inlaid with very beautiful Chinese tiles, very old but 
still fresh looking. The congregation is very proud of 
them. I was taken to the gallery where the reader of 
the sacred books stands. Behind this is a place screened 
off for women. A back passage leads from this to a 
room containing an old Dutch clock of which they are 
also very proud. It is a very queer affair. The weights 
are big, heavy stones tied together and suspended by a 
very strong rope which lets itself down first into a 
warehouse room on the floor below and then into a deep 
well. It is wound up once in eight days. A few big 
and little wheels comprise the whole machinery, all 
venerable with age and very massive. I told the young 
men I wanted some Cochin stamps. They said as it 
was the Sabbath they could not unlock the office nor 
could they detach a stamp from an envelope. I offered 
them some American stamps in exchange but they 



374 The Old World 

could not even pull them from the tissue paper to which 
they were lightly pasted, but I did this willingly for 
them and gave them those they selected. They 
promised to send me the Cochin stamps to Bombay. 
They have converted a good many of the natives who 
have several synagogues and are called black Jews in 
contradistinction to the white Jews. They are not 
black, however; some are very light brown in color. 
These Jews spoke still of the dreadful persecutions of 
the Portuguese, for these latter brought their perse- 
cuting spirit with them and tried to extirpate the 
heresy of the Nestorian Christians whom they found 
in India instead of fraternizing with them. Cochin was 
the first European settlement in India, the Portuguese 
building a factory here in 1500. It contains the oldest 
European church. I went to see this St. Francis Xavier 
Church. The Portuguese are buried on one side of it, 
the Dutch, who ousted them, on the other, while the 
English are in possession. It was too late for me to 
see the old graves, so I returned to my rickishaws and 
ordered the men to go to the ferry. I had to cross to 
the other side where, next morning at seven, my train 
would be waiting. Going along the seashore, I found it 
lined with very odd fishing arrangements. It seems the 
fish come in close to the shore in great shoals, so tall 
cranes are erected at short intervals all along the sea 
front, which let down and draw up the nets filled with 
fish. They look like phantom creatures of colossal 
size stretching out long skeleton arms, silhouetted 
against the evening sky, and have the most fantastic 
appearance. I did not get to the travelers' bungalow 
until after eight o'clock that night and was told dinner 
was over, the house crowded, no more rooms, and 
nothing to eat. Now my stomach had regained its tone 



Through Old Eyes 375 

on the sugar-cane and I wanted a good square meal, but 
had to content myself with some poached eggs and 
bananas, then I had to undress myself in a dirty pantry 
and sleep in a bed on the veranda. I was cold in the 
night and it gave me toothache. I reached Calicut at 
one next day and was met by Miss Metzger who took 
me to the German Lutheran Mission. After tea, I 
drove with the ladies to the seashore. This Mission 
has a textile factory and two tile factories employing 
one thousand men and women. They are employed 
by the job. Each is paid for what he or she does. They 
begin work at seven-thirty, leave off at eleven-thirty, 
begin again at one, and leave off at five-thirty. They 
are said to earn, when skilled, thirty rupees per month 
or ten dollars of our money. I thought of that great 
factory at Pondicherry working women and children as 
well as men eleven hours a day with a maximum wage 
of nine cents. When I judge as to whether the treat- 
ment of factory children is iniquitous, I think of my 
boys doing the same work, and if it sends an awful 
shock through me with a sickening sensation, then I 
know it must be iniquitous. This German Lutheran 
Mission has a boys' school of nine hundred and a girls' 
school of four hundred besides a hospital. Miss Metz- 
ger is the principal and she and her assistants are the 
busiest women I have yet seen. I insisted, however, on 
hearing a Beethoven sonata with violin and piano 
from them. They said they really did not have the 
time and I believed them, but I wanted to forget my 
toothache. 

Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut in 1498 after a 
voyage of ten months from Portugal. 



376 The Old World 



Bangalore, 
February 4, 191 4. 



On the train from Calicut I met two American 
tourists, mother and pretty daughter from one of the 
New England States. I lay on one of the seats and the 
pretty girl was very nice to me. I did not feel well and 
was very sorry when they left the train. Then there 
got in an Englishman, his wife and baby, their ayah, and 
a dog. He had two coolies in the servants' apartment 
attached to every first-class car. The wife was very 
deaf. I asked him how she lost her hearing. He said 
it came on her very suddenly just before her marriage. 
I was touched by his devotion to this afflicted wife. 
They let me have one whole seat where I could lie down ; 
only the dog shared it with me and he scratched more 
persistently than any dog I have yet seen, but I thought 
there were so many worse things than scratching dogs 
that I only said : " It must have been a great pet before 
the baby came." He said it was very jealous of the 
baby. It turned out well for me that I met this gentle- 
man, for he showed me where my Cook's itinerary had 
made a mistake of an hour, and he got me off at the 
station where he left the train and told me the one to 
take in order not to change cars during the night. I 
feel often like the old Lama in Kim and let many 
people acquire merit by taking care of me. This gentle- 
man did all he could to acquire merit along that line. 
Just before I got on my train, the ticket inspector, a 
native, came to interview me and finding me stiff and 
sore said he had a very fine rheumatism remedy. I 
was to procure a pigeon, partially kill it, and with the 
blood which trickled from the wound I was to rub my 
limbs thoroughly, then put the rest into hot water and . 
drink it. This was warranted to drive away every 



Through Old Eyes 377 

vestige of rheumatism. I thanked him warmly though 
I had no rheumatism. I write the remedy to you home 
people because you can experiment with it more readily 
than I can and let me hear the result. The inspector of 
tickets came back to see me and said, profoundly 
depressed, he had lost his wife who had left him with 
ten children. I said cheerfully: "But you have no 
rheumatism. " He acknowledged that I was right and 
said in a deeply depressed tone of voice, "Please pray 
for me. " Before leaving Calicut, I had written to the 
Methodist Mission here the hour of my arrival, but 
forgot to state the day. Now the principal of the big 
Baldwin School for Girls, an American institution, 
belonging to the Methodists, was expecting the arrival 
of a housekeeper, a young Englishwoman. When the 
train stopped before six in the morning, coolies entered 
my compartment and took out my luggage, while a 
servant handed me an envelope on which was written : 
"A carriage for Mrs. Bela. " In the dim light I read: 
"A carriage from Mrs. Bela," so I got in, and after a 
long drive arrived, the servants showing me to a room. 
It was decidedly the simplest I had been put into, but 
as I am always saying I dislike all unnecessary furni- 
ture, I never thought of complaining. I was quite busy 
putting my things in order and waiting for my chota 
hazri when I heard a knock at the door, and opening it 
saw a lady who stood staring at me in blank amazement. 
I said: "How are you, Mrs. Bela?" All she was able 
to say was, "What is your name?" I thought it 
singular she could not read my signature. I told her 
my name and asked if she were an American. "Yes, 
but I was expecting another person. I was expecting 
Mrs. Bela. " "Are you not then Mrs. Bela?" and so we 
went on with questions in bewildering rapidity. When 



378 The Old World 

I related the scene at the breakfast table there was great 
hilarity, but Miss Fisher was seriously concerned as to 
what had become of her housekeeper. She soon found 
out where I belonged, which was fortunately very near 
the school. 

Bangalore lies some three thousand feet high and it 
is cooler here than at Calicut, so Laura's shawl is 
invaluable. 

Hyderabad, Montgomery Hotel, 

February 12, 19 14. 

My dear Family: 

I wrote you last, I believe, from the mission house in 
Bangalore. They were very kind to me there. In 
telling you of Calicut I forgot to describe a procession 
I saw the night of my arrival at the German Lutheran 
Mission. It was after dinner and I had an ulcerated 
tooth, but when I saw going by in the street the brilliant 
lights and the white-robed figures I started on a run to 
the gate, followed by Miss Metzger's assistant begging 
me not to go as far as the gate, but I did not listen to 
any such words. There were many women in the 
procession all clothed in pure white muslin with big 
golden clasps binding their black hair, their fine, thick, 
glossy hair. They had big golden disk-like earrings in 
their ears. I asked my lady companion what kind of a 
procession it was, and she thought it must be a wedding. 
I said: "Let me pay one of the servants to accompany 
me for a while and bring me back to the Mission, just 
for a little while, please." "Oh, no, that would never 
do"; I was a guest in the Mission and the example 
would be dreadful. Finding her inexorable I said: 
"Well, I shall just look at it a few moments and then 
come back to you." She was standing in the shadow 



Through Old Eyes 379 

of the gate so as not to be seen. I ran out among the 
women. They answered my friendly greetings with 
smiles and held out their hands to shake mine, patting 
me on the back. I was fascinated and longed to go with 
them. I had forgotten my toothache and my fatigue. 
I seemed to have a sort of natural affinity for these 
heathen people. I feel such confidence in them. They 
are so gentle and friendly and so honest too. I was 
dreadfully sorry to have to leave them and wished that 
the missionaries could have had just a little sympathy 
for those who are also the children of God. They seem 
to have such a dread of showing sympathy for them, 
believing it would imperil their standing among them. 
On the contrary, I believe they would gain more than 
they could possibly lose by it. However, I have written 
of the good work they are doing among these poor 
outcasts, for the missions have little success except 
among the pariahs, and this is as it should be. Well, 
that good Mrs. Stephens put me up a nice lunch and I 
took the night train for Seringapatam reaching that 
station at about 6 A.M. I found there a good waiting- 
room and asked the man in charge to get me some coffee 
and hot milk. He said he would do so and an hour 
afterwards reappeared with two dirty brass vessels, one 
containing milk cooled by the long walk from the village, 
the other a decoction of coarse tea stems no longer hot, 
no sugar. I had waited so long and for such a drink! 
I poured a little of the thick tea decoction into the dirty 
milk vessel and managed to swallow a little of it. I 
then ate my breakfast which would have been very 
good with some hot coffee. I took a bullock cart with a 
small boy as driver. I protested against the size of the 
driver but it did no good, so I sat on a mat laid over 
straw and off we started to visit the scene of two very 



380 The Old World 

famous sieges. Tourists, as a rule, do not get out at 
Seringapatam. They go on to the hotel at Mysore, then 
take an automobile or carriage and make the nine miles 
to Seringapatam in short time, going luxuriously and 
leisurely over the ground which embraces some miles 
in circuit. Well, I soon forgot all else in the interest 
evoked by the sight of places rendered so celebrated in 
history. I wished that Sedley had been with me. The 
last siege in which Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali, was 
killed was in 1799. Colonel Arthur Wellesley (the 
Iron Duke), took part in this second siege, but the 
command of the operations was given by courtesy to 
General Baird, who was made general for the occasion, 
because he had suffered much in captivity after an 
engagement in which a British detachment was entirely 
cut to pieces by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and Colonel 
Baillie, the commander, Baird, and several other officers 
were taken prisoners. Poor Baillie died in captivity 
after two years of prison hardships, but to Baird was 
accorded the honor of commanding the attacking forces 
because of his much suffering, and he lived to assist 
in the triumph. The most interesting places to me at 
Seringapatam were the mausoleum of Hyder Ali and 
the summer palace of Tipu Sultan, both in beautiful 
gardens and kept in perfect order by the state. Near 
the mausoleum' is a small enclosure containing an ex- 
quisite white tomb to Colonel Baillie, which was very 
touching to me. Colonel Wellesley was left in com- 
mand after the surrender and had his headquarters in 
the lovely Moorish summer palace of Tipu Sultan. On 
its walls is a fresco depicting the victory of Hyder Ali 
and Tipu Sultan over Colonel Baillie's troops which 
is extremely interesting. Colonel Wellesley found it 
defaced (perhaps by English soldiers) and magnani- 



Through Old Eyes 381 

mously had it restored. In this fresco, Colonel Baillie, 
has a conspicuous place in a palanquin looking most 
dismal, while the French allies have a very spirited 
appearance in marked contrast to the discomfited 
English. I found every spot at Seringapatam full of 
interest; the place where Tipu fell, unable to get back 
through the gate; the great breach in the walls; the 
ghat leading down to the river with its lively scenes ; the 
odd and picturesque mosque, all were replete with 
interest. The bullock was the most perverse creature 
I ever saw. The boy had to get down continually, 
throw a rope over one of its horns, which it resisted by 
shaking its head, and then pull it back in the right 
direction. At more than one critical moment, passers by 
would come to our assistance, pushing the bullock off of 
obstructions which it knowingly ran against. It loved 
to haul up abruptly, half-way down steep slopes at the 
side of the road. 

I went on to Mysore that afternoon, reaching it early 
enough to spend a couple of hours in the zoo. There I 
forgot fatigue and hunger, for I had had only cold things 
to eat and sugar-cane, which is my delight in traveling. 
I paid the keepers to make the animals show off. The 
leopards were enormous and let the keeper stroke them 
while they purred like cats, but the tigers got into a 
terrible and beautiful rage. The birds and monkeys 
were very fine too. I stood for two hours looking at 
them all. I certainly enjoyed my good dinner that 
night, and a good rest in the hotel, I was anxious to 
see the fine new palace which has just been finished and 
which has been much criticized. Some of the criticism 
was so offensive to his Highness, the Maharajah, that 
he has given strict orders against admitting any tourists 
unless with unusual recommendations. Now, I had 



382 The Old World 

none. I went to call on the electrical engineer of the 
Maharajah at half-past seven a.m. The servant said: 
"Master has gone for a long walk but the carriage is 
going for him. If you wait, you will see him. " I said: 
"All right, bring me some newspapers to read." Soon 
after I saw the carriage going out of the compound gate. 
I sprang into mine and told the coachman to follow, 
but the stupid fellow was so long understanding me 
that the engineer's good horse had a considerable start. 
It was difficult to keep his carriage in sight, but when 
well out in the country we saw it in front of a gate. 
There I stopped my poor horse, which was quite blown 
after what to him was a mad race, and soon Mr. Hard- 
acre, the engineer, appeared. I said: "I have had a 
hard time finding you." He said, looking keenly at 
me : ' ' What is the matter. " " Nothing except that your 
horse is much better than mine and it was very difficult 
to follow him. " " What do you want of me ? " "I want 
to get into the new palace, of course." "Well, it can't 
be done . Orders are very strict against it . " He was now 
standing by the carriage and after talking awhile I saw 
he was beginning to get interested in me and that if it 
were possible he was going to admit me to the palace. 
He succeeded in this and I went with my things all 
packed to go direct from there to the train. This Mysore 
palace is more like Alladin's than any I have yet seen. 
When I caught sight of its many colored domes in 
driving by the day before, I thought it was a mosque 
in the old Russian style of church architecture, so 
fantastic did it appear. It is of no particular style, but 
a mixture of many and as I like odd things, especially 
in the Orient, which seems to me to suit the fantastic 
and the extraordinary, I was delighted. The entrance 
court contains eight enormous stone tigers remarkably 



Through Old Eyes 383 

well carved. On the gates there were beautiful bas- 
reliefs of rampant elephants, the coat of arms of the 
family. There were four double doors of solid carved 
silver, many others of exquisite wood carvings, and 
some superb ornaments in carved sandalwood. At 
Seringapatam, I had visited a warehouse for sandal- 
wood and had learned much about that costliest of 
woods from the guide there. Small bars of it are sold 
for two and three rupees. When one takes up one of 
these insignificant looking bars, one is amazed at the 
weight of it. The funeral pyres of the Maharajahs and 
of the Princes of India are of sandalwood and cost their 
families enormous sums, but having this association it 
was used sparingly in the Alladin's palace at Mysore. 
Mr. Hardacre reached the palace before I had finished 
my inspection and took charge of me. He was so good 
and cordial and seemed to wish so much that the elec- 
tricity had not all been turned off so that he could make 
the great double electrical organ play sweet music for 
me and set the colored fountain, an ornament for the 
dinner table, in movement. It was a bewildering place, 
throne rooms and great galleries around an enormously 
high central court with a stained glass dome over it 
and painted steel pillars reaching up high overhead to 
support it. I thanked Mr. Hardacre most warmly for 
all his goodness to me. He positively would not let 
me pay the servants one cent, which I really wished to 
do. 

On my return to Bangalore, while the train was 
stopping at the station of Seringapatam, I thought I 
heard a familiar voice calling my name, but could not 
believe it possible. However, it came nearer and the 
words were: "Aunt Mary, Aunt Mary." I sprang up 
and saw on the platform the pretty smiling face of Mrs. 



384 The Old World 

Shepherd. I was overjoyed to see them and she got 
into my compartment and told me of their trip through 
the north. It was one of triumph. They had visited 
London before coming to India and had been enter- 
tained by ministers and nobility, and came furnished 
with letters to the highest authorities in India. After 
telling me of all the native courts where they were 
entertained for days at a time, she added : "How often 
I wished that you could have been with us, for we could 
have shared with you many of these advantages. Our 
invitations often included many friends in our party." 
How much I regretted that I could not have accom- 
panied this lovely and amiable woman in that wonderful 
tour. I tried to be happy in her happiness and, indeed, 
I was proud of the recognition they had received. I 
wish our country could always be so worthily repre- 
sented. I parted from them in Bangalore, they going 
on to Madras and Ceylon where they had letters to the 
governors, then to Egypt where they had a letter to 
Lord Kitchener. 

At the hotel in Bangalore I wrote a note to Mr. 
Campbell, private secretary to the Maharajah of 
Mysore. In this I mentioned the pleasure I had in 
going over the ground at Seringapatam. He came to the 
hotel immediately to see me and explained the siege, 
making a diagram which made everything clear. He 
told me he had made a study of those operations. I 
liked him very much. He said at first it would be 
impossible to get me an interview with the family of the 
Maharajah, but I felt sure he would do so if it were 
possible. Next day I got a note telling me that I was 
to go to the palace at five o'clock Monday afternoon. 
I answered this with my warmest thanks and he came 
in his auto to take me to see his wife and daughter, 



Through Old Eyes 385 

two most charming ladies. Mrs. Campbell is English, he 
Scotch. They invited me to dinner after the audience, 
but I thought it best to take the night train for Secun- 
derabad. On Monday at five o'clock, after a lovely 
drive around the royal park, I arrived punctually at the 
palace gates. This palace looks very much like Windsor 
Castle and is one of the most beautiful castle palaces 
I have seen. It was not built by the young Maharajah. 
The great stairway was lined with rare and beautiful 
plants and thickly carpeted, a grand entrance. At the 
head of the stairs, the Maharajah met me. I had seen 
his pictures, but they looked much lighter in color 
than he. He is perfectly brown, though his features 
are very handsome and refined. Of course, I did not 
recognize him and took him for a chamberlain till he 
spoke to me, and then I gave myself away by saying: 
"Is this the Maharajah?" with some surprise. In the 
great drawing-room were his mother, his beautiful 
young wife, two sisters, and a sister-in-law, besides an 
English lady, a teacher to the ladies, I imagine. I sat 
on the sofa with his mother, he opposite, behind him at 
a little distance the lovely young wife. I asked : "Have 
you any children?" "No, none," he answered. I felt 
I had struck the wrong chord. The poor wife and 
sisters sat outside the circle we three formed. In India 
where the children of the poor swarm on every side, it 
did seem a pity that the beautiful young wife could not 
have had one, at least. She was so fair that the blushes 
could be seen mounting to her cheeks when I made 
allusion to her. I could only talk to her on arriving and 
leaving for she was too far behind her husband. Her 
scarf was pinned by a superb diamond, a tiny one was 
in one nostril. The ladies wore very little jewelry, no 
doubt thinking it out of place in the afternoon calling 

as 



386 The Old World 

hour. They spoke so little that I had to talk d, tort 
et d travers which was hard on me as I wanted to 
observe them and see something of the beautiful objects 
in the room. I hardly think I made a good impression, 
I talked too much. The Maharajah has aristocratically 
simple and easy manners. Since eighteen years of age, 
he has been on the throne with enormous wealth at his 
disposal. He has great hatred of the average tourist. 
They published criticisms of the great palace in Mysore, 
which he built, that were extremely offensive. First the 
lavish expenditure was criticized, then the bastard style 
of architecture, and one critic even went so far as to 
say the tiles reminded him of those in the latrines of 
London. I can understand after reading such criticisms 
why he gave strict orders to let no more tourists enter 
the Mysore palace. I was awfully sorry the Maharajah 
accompanied me downstairs, for all my luggage was in 
the carriage and so filled it that there was little room for 
my feet, but I felt I had to get off on the evening train. 
In the ladies' room at the station I took off my lace 
dress and slept very well, though it was horribly dusty 
and I had to shut out all the air. I reached Secundera- 
bad at six next evening where Mr. Levering, the Baptist 
minister, met me. He had a great deal of mail for me. 
Mr. Arps wrote very enthusiastically of Wilson ; I was 
charmed with his letter. He and I always think alike 
in politics. 

(Two letters are here missing.) 

New Goa, South of Bombay, 

February 26, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

I came from Bombay here by steamer. Knowing 
nothing of the boat, I only brought along my steamer- 




MAHARAJAH OF MYSORE 



Through Old Eyes 387 

rug bundle. When I got on board, I found it very- 
small with not a single cabin, only a small salon on 
deck with two benches and a narrow table between. 
This was a shock. There were two first-class native 
passengers abroad who soon got very seasick, but 
happily before this began I had some conversation with 
one, a lawyer from Bombay whose English was fluent. 
He spoke to the captain about me, a Mohammedan 
and a kind-hearted man. He sent up a mattress which 
was placed on a bench on the open deck for me. In my 
bundle were sheets, a blanket, and an air pillow. Well, 
I did not fall off my mattress though the vessel rolled 
the whole night most actively, and strange to say I slept 
well. I don't think there was another mattress on 
board. The other two passengers gave me some very 
fine fruit and when they got off another English-speak- 
ing native got on, so my communication with the 
Mohammedan crew was kept up. I was twenty-eight 
hours on board, the cheapest trip I ever took, the whole 
thing including meals, most excellent curry and hot 
tea, was only $2.00. I arrived in Goa on Shrove 
Tuesday. From my hotel balcony I could see into the 
large club rooms opposite, where the fashionable Portu- 
guese society of the city was holding carnival revels. 
The music, dancing, gay masqueraders of all ages were 
so fascinating that I could not resist, so over I went. 
No one I spoke to knew any language that I could speak 
so I sat down and watched the beautiful, fancy-dressed 
children dance. They were such beautiful children with 
such superb eyes. At last a young man came up to me 
who spoke English and of him I asked permission to 
watch the dancers. He went off to the committee and 
came back saying I could remain for a while. In spite 
of the beauty of the scene, the great heat and over- 



388 The Old World 

powering perftunes soon drove me away. The streets, 
too, were alive with merrymakers, but I was too weary 
to sit up and went back to the hotel to bed. 

Next day I drove to Old Goa, beginning by a lovely 
drive of three miles along the river bank, then two 
miles through cocoanut groves and villages with occa- 
sional flashing glimpses of water through the trees. The 
drive was worth while in itself, but Old Goa is extremely 
interesting. It was Albuquerque who conquered it 
from the Moslem power at Bijapur. In the middle of 
the fourteenth century, it was the wealthiest city in 
India, but the Dutch warred against the Portuguese in- 
cessantly and everywhere in the East, and the Portu- 
guese had to yield much to them before the English 
occupancy. Malaria forced the Portuguese to abandon 
Old Goa for the new site, and now the jungle has in- 
vaded the old town to such an extent that it is impossible 
to trace even the ruins of its once superb palaces. 
Catholic piety has, however, preserved some large 
churches in perfect repair. In one of these lies the body 
of St. Francis Xavier in a solid silver coffin which lies 
in a great sarcophagus. These were a gift from the 
Grand Duke of Tuscany. There is also a solid silver 
statue of this saint presented by one of the queens of 
Portugal. I found here a young man who spoke Eng- 
lish, but I informed him too abruptly and without 
adequate preparation that I was a Protestant. This 
seemed to daze him and I could get little information 
out of him. Old Goa is like a stranded ship on a far- 
off shore unconscious of the great world where it played 
a brilliant r61e long ago. In one of these empty 
churches, the priests were chanting the evening service. 
In the days of Goa's glory, the Inquisition had a huge 
palace here and the autos-da-fe were frequent and 



Through Old Eyes 389 

solemn spectacles, the great bell tolling the while. The 
vast palace now lies under the jungle, and gone with it, 
I trust, is the vain attempt to control men's faith by 
force. To-morrow I take a comfortable steamer for 
Bombay. This hotel, called The Grand, is the best one 
here, but it is the dirtiest and the vilest I have ever been 
in. The crockery, knives and forks, everything is 
sticky with dirty dish water. I have eaten so little that 
I am weak. I am going to the Taj Mahal in Bombay and 
try to recuperate. My room here is large and airy with 
fine veranda in front, but everything is so dirty. The 
hotel is built on a beautiful plaza not far from the sea. 



(Two letters lost.) 



GuEST-HousE, Baroda, India, 

March 19, 1914. 



My dear Family: 

Before I begin on Baroda, I must tell you of the 
Parsee wedding. Miss Cursetje called for me at four 
in the afternoon, and after a pleasant visit from that 
estimable little lady we started for the wedding. We 
drove through the most beautiful portion of that most 
beautiful city, and I was talking so eagerly that we 
reached the great courtyard, where all Parsee weddings 
take place, before I was aware that we were near it, so 
that when I turned my head I was transfixed by the 
sight. On one side of the courtyard was a numerous 
regimental band in white uniforms playing delightfully. 
All the space in front was filled with chairs occupied by 
Parsee gentlemen in flowing white robes. Many wore 
white caps or turbans instead of the usual black glazed 
Parsee cap. In the background was the gaily decorated 
pavilion for the wedding ceremony and chairs for the 



390 The Old World 

ladies which were placed on carpets. The ladies occupy- 
ing these seats wore gorgeous costumes. I wanted so 
much to stand up a moment or two in the carriage so as 
to take in the striking scene, so novel and captivating 
to me, but that could not be permitted, and dear Miss 
Cursetje soon had me out and was elbowing a place 
for me in the foreground where I could see everything, 
introducing me right and left to priests and laymen as 
she hurried me on. These priests wore quaint vestments 
interwoven with gold threads over their white robes. 
All Parsee ladies dress in silk if they can possibly afford 
it and their costumes are most beautiful. They also 
wear lovely and costly jewels. When the bride and 
groom appeared Miss Cursetje made people move in 
spite of my protests so that I could have an unob- 
structed view. The officiating priests, plentifully 
supplied with rice from brass salvers, pelted the young 
couple with it, while they went through the service in 
what I am assured is the oldest language in the world. 
This lasted fully an hour. Besides the rice, there were 
cocoanut and ghee having some symbolic meaning. 
My invitation included one to the wedding dinner and 
as this was now repeated verbally, I decided to stay. 
On one side of the courtyard under a long shed were 
rows of tables with seats on one side only so as to leave 
room for the servants to pass. Instead of plates, broad, 
fresh young banana leaves were spread on the table. 
The servants brought enormous round trays filled with 
food of all kinds : mountains of fried chicken and fried 
fish, stewed chicken and stewed fish, pickles, sauces, 
meat balls, vegetables, heaps of potato chips (I felt 
quite at home with these) , huge platters of fried eggs 
cooked beautifully and garnished with minced vege- 
tables, and sweetmeats served at the same time. The 



Through Old Eyes 391 

head steward stood like a general in the midst of the 
hall and issued his orders. Rice and curry were served 
on one corner of the big leaf. After the guests had 
partaken of this plentiful repast, the leaves were 
gathered up with their abundant remaining contents, 
placed carefully in baskets, and handed out to the poor 
waiting in the streets. The dessert was ice cream, 
macaroons and toasted almonds; wine and all kinds 
of soft drinks were served in profusion. After dinner 
I talked to many of the ladies before returning to the 
hotel. Next day I interviewed a servant with a view 
to hiring him for my visit to the court of Baroda. It 
was apparently not satisfactory to him as he did not 
meet me at the station as he promised. 

I reached Baroda at 5 130 in the morning and was met 
by the superintendent of the guest-house in a landau 
with liveried servants. Breakfast was served me as 
soon as I got here and at eight Miss Tottenham arrived, 
the private secretary of the Maharanee. I was pre- 
pared to like her from her letters and found her really 
charming, a pretty Irish lady with good sense and wit. 
She planned my day for me. First a visit to a palace 
five miles in the country, later the museum, and at five 
o'clock tea with her Highness at the Lakshmivilas 
palace. The five-mile drive in the country with the 
superintendent was delightful over a beautiful well- 
watered road. The palace was most interesting, with 
fascinating views from every window into well-kept 
gardens. On my return to the guest-house, a delicious 
tiffin was served at one, then came the museum and 
the menagerie, but I was more interested in the monkeys 
holding their little ones in their arms and roaming free 
in the gardens than in any caged animals. When 
dressing for the tea I found I had left my hatpins at the 



392 The Old World 

Taj Mahal Hotel. I couldn't possibly keep my hat on 
my head, so was forced to go to this first formal inter- 
view bareheaded. The carriage was late too, and I 
kept her Highness waiting half an hour and royalty 
does not like to wait. When Miss Tottenham met me 
at the foot of the stairs she said : ' ' Do you never wear 
a bonnet ? " I was led up a flight of steps into a magnifi- 
cent room and began my visit by elaborate apologies 
to the Maharanee for my delay. The palace is beautiful 
and beautifully furnished, but the Maharanee was to 
me the most beautiful object in it, a perfect example of 
an Eastern beauty, face and figure, and though over 
forty she does not look twenty-five. She wore delicately 
tinted draperies and superb diamonds. While we were 
talking the Maharajah came in dressed in a plain busi- 
ness suit like any Englishman. He asked about my 
travels, and either was much interested or successfully 
feigned to be so for I was led to talk volubly, but 
suddenly glancing at the Maharanee I saw that she 
was yawning fearfully and I said: "Oh, let's talk about 
India," and went on to congratulate myself on being 
here for the festivities in honor of the Maharajah's 
birthday; his equestrian statue was to be unveiled; 
two Durbars were to be held and a garden party given 
at night in the palace grounds. This equestrian statue 
is a present from some of his admirers who ordered it 
from a celebrated sculptor on the occasion of his silver 
jubilee a few years ago. Naturally I was much pleased 
at being invited to all these festivities, for I have a 
passion for pageants. I told his Highness I hoped he 
would not wear the stiff European dress on these 
occasions and that I might have the privilege of seeing 
a procession of elephants with howdahs on their backs 
and red trappings. He said he would wear the native 



Through Old Eyes 393 

costume but could not promise me a procession of 
elephants. If I wished to ride one, however, that could 
easily be arranged. In thanking him I said that I had 
never been on an elephant but once and that was in 
1897 when I rode with Sedley up the steep hill of 
Gwalior. The mention of Gwalior reminded the 
Maharanee of her great sorrow which she cannot get 
over. Her only daughter, brought up with every 
advantage of education and travel, whom they had 
hoped to marry to the young ruler of Gwalior, ran away 
and married the Maharajah of Cooch-Behar, a much 
less important personage than Sindhia. Now Sindhia 
has one wife already and that would be to us Westerners 
conclusive, but she has no child and that to the Oriental 
is also conclusive. Sindhia, according to their customs, 
has a perfect right to take a second wife in order to give 
an heir to his illustrious line. But the young lady fell 
in love with the youthful Cooch-Behar and told Miss 
Tottenham she was going to run away with him, so 
Miss Tottenham accompanied the young couple and 
saw them properly married, but neither parent was 
present at the ceremony which took place in London. 
The Maharajah of Baroda, whose family name is 
Gaekwar, had a son by his first marriage who died 
young, leaving two girls and a little boy, the latter is 
the present heir to Baroda. The lovely second wife 
has three sons besides the married daughter, though 
she looks so youthful. Two of these sons were married 
not long ago. Miss Tottenham tells me the festivities 
were on a grand scale. Though the Maharajah seemed 
interested in our conversation, I could see her Highness 
was dreadfully bored so I rose to go. Indeed, I had 
paid a long call. At ten o'clock next day, the first 
Durbar was to take place at a palace situated in the 



394 The Old World 

city. I arrived early and found some Nautch girls 
waiting in one of the smaller corridors. I had quite a 
long talk with them through the medium of the head 
gardener of all the parks and palace gardens, with whom 
I had struck up an acquaintance and who undertook 
to translate for me. The girls had pearls hanging from 
their nostrils on one side and diamonds stuck in on the 
other. I told them that in our unfriendly climate we 
were unable to indulge in nose ornaments. We had to 
use our handkerchiefs too much. They exclaimed that 
they should like above all things to go to America with 
me. I assured them that they would create quite a 
sensation over there and make a good deal of money, 
which made them more eager to go, but I added : "I am 
old and may die en route. What, then, would become 
of you ? " I also said that I meant first to travel through 
Persia which was infested with robbers and bandits 
who stripped travelers and left them naked on the 
roadside. This very true information abated their 
ardor for travel. I then went to look at the household 
guards dressed like Prussian Hussars. The gardener 
explained that the Hussars wore their sleeves hanging 
loose, because on one occasion they were surprised and 
had only the time to button their jackets around their 
necks. Thus arrayed they were victorious and ever 
after wore their jackets with sleeves hanging loose. 
The head gardener spoke English much better than 
personages of higher rank and pointed out all the 
important people to me. I took my seat finally in a 
chair just outside the door of the Durbar hall (only 
men were inside), where I could see everything. The 
Nautch girls were now dancing to amuse the waiting 
guests. They danced with much spirit, but in order to 
make their skirts look like trousers they had drawn 



Through Old Eyes 395 

them from behind between the knees and stuck them 
into their belts in front, thus defining that portion of 
the body which were better left draped. 

When the two Maharajahs entered they sat on a red 
velvet dais at the end of the hall. They wore white 
with dazzling jewels. Gaekwar wore the beautiful 
order of the Star of India with rows of big pearls around 
his neck, a small red cap on his head. The other Rajah 
wore a more fantastic headdress. Thick garlands of 
the small white jasmine were now brought and hung 
about their necks, also on those of a few of the highest 
officials; then bouquets were handed them, while per- 
fumes from slender silver vases were poured on the 
flowers. Smaller bouquets were handed freely among 
the crowd. I got one of these. It was highly perfumed. 
The air was heavy with perfumes, for Orientals love 
them much more than we do. Missionaries have told 
me that native servants who would steal nothing else 
could not resist a bottle of scent. Often on the train I 
am sickened by the jasmine and tuberoses the passengers 
bring with them. After this Durbar I went home with 
Miss Tottenham where I rested and read the papers. 
I saw in a Bombay newspaper the astonishing news that 
in a Berlin paper, the Post, the official organ of the 
Imperial party, there had been published on the front 
page a clarion call to arms against Russia and France. 
Such folty I could never have believed. To demand war 
against two powerful neighbors, one, Russia, almost 
invulnerable by reason of its colossal size and the 
fanatical devotion of the peasants to the "Little 
Father." Russia can pour millions on the soil of Ger- 
many and granting that Germany gains victories, what 
will they profit her against such an antagonist, for each 
victory will cost its hecatombs of dead, and still the 



396 The Old World 

great colossus will remain practically unharmed. If 
the Kaiser permitted this (and the Press is not free in 
Germany) he must be mad and a mad emperor could 
drag that nation to ruin. 

I forgot to say that after the Durbar, Miss Totten- 
ham and I rode to her bungalow on the most gorgeous 
elephant I ever saw — his head and snout painted, his 
trappings of scarlet, and a mahout in spotless white, 
besides four attendants in white carrying long poles 
with sharp points, these in case the huge brute should 
become restive. But as Barrie says: "You can't 
expect to be baith grand and comfortable." Every 
movement the huge beast made was like a small 
earthquake, thumping my back against a brass railing 
which exactly struck the middle of it. While I felt the 
honor of riding in state and looking into the upper 
stories of peoples' houses, I was thankful to get my 
bruised and aching bones to earUi. In the afternoon 
we went to the second Durbar. The special object 
of this was the installation of the new prime minister. 
This time I had to go upstairs with the purdah ladies 
and look down on the proceedings. This second Durbar 
was in the Residence palace. The Nautch girls had 
changed their finery and were dancing away tirelessly, 
not knowing what fatigue means. The Maharanee, 
the brides of her two sons, and the two wives of Holkar 
of Indore were in the purdah or screened gallery peeping 
through the bamboo shades. I was introduced to them 
all. The brides, two charming, laughing girls dressed 
alike, were as pleased as children to show me their 
jewels. One wore a chain of diamonds on her neck, the 
other one of big pearls. I told the beautiful mother that 
Miss Tottenham had introduced me to her three sons 
and that I had asked them if they were not proud of 



Through Old Eyes 397 

their lovely mother. She asked eagerly: "What did 
they say?" "Nothing, absolutely nothing," I replied, 
and added that I believed it was the custom of seclud- 
ing women that prevented the men from feeling proud 
of their female relatives. Naturally they could not 
have the same respect for them that they would feel for 
free and independent beings. She said: "Talk to the 
Maharajah and tell him what you think of purdah. ' ' 

I really keep house in this guest-house. The major- 
domo comes for orders and the fare is delicious, while the 
choicest fruit is sent to my room every day. I am 
asked to say what wines I wish but I order none, for I 
am a very modest guest. The superintendent acts as 
my escort and all the servants are very attentive. Of 
course, I shall have to give large tips on leaving but they 
deserve it. The house is handsome and built in a fine 
garden. I have two balconies to my room, and a dense 
growth of white jasmine in full bloom climbs on the 
balustrade. At four- thirty in the afternoon Miss 
Marsden, the English governess to the little heir to the 
throne, came for me and drove me to see the unveiling 
of his Highness's equestrian statue. I had a very good 
seat and heard the Maharajah of Indore make an 
excellent speech in faultless English. On this occasion 
the wives of the two Maharajahs took seats with their 
husbands on the sofas in view of the crowd. After 
this ceremony, the wife of the state architect took me 
driving in her carriage. She and her husband are 
English and I found her very interesting. She brought 
me home in time to rest before dressing for dinner 
and the garden party. Miss Marsden took me to the 
garden party. I had a carriage and horses at my dis- 
posal, but I preferred going with these ladies for their 
company. The palace gardens looked like fairyland 



398 The Old World 

with every kind of illimiination. Tables loaded with 
refreshments were scattered through the grounds, and 
servants stood ready to bring any drinks desired. It 
was the most lavish Oriental hospitality I ever saw. 
Many kinds of amusements were also provided. My 
friends, the Nautch girls, had a big carpet laid for 
them and their musicians, and in fresh toilets they 
capered away smiling when they caught sight of me. 
Musicians and dancers were scattered all through the 
gardens, even card tables with cards and chairs were 
provided. Here I was introduced to the new prime 
minister who goes out with guards and is a very impor- 
tant personage. He is of the purest Aryan type I have 
yet met with in India, tall and commanding in person, 
with Roman nose, fine eyes and forehead. He reminded 
me strongly of the bust of Julius Caesar in the Vatican 
gallery. I told him this and asked for his photo. Next 
day he paid me quite a long visit and brought the 
photograph. I wish I could repeat our conservation, it 
was so interesting, but I have not the time now. There 
was also a moving-picture show at the garden party, 
the whole winding up with elaborate fireworks. I got 
to bed at one o'clock after one of the fullest days of my 
life. I omitted to say that at the unveiling ceremony 
the two Maharajahs drove up in a golden coach drawn 
by four superb white horses attended by a picturesque 
bodyguard. When the Maharajah spoke to me at the 
garden party he said he had heard of my conversation 
with his three sons in the Durbar palace. I had said 
that men were such fighting animals but that when 
women had more influence wars would cease. The 
youngest son retorted: "What about the suffragettes?" 
I had to acknowledge myself worsted in the argument. 
I had expected to leave yesterday after a three days' 



Through Old Eyes 399 

visit to this court, but Miss Tottenham has brought me 
an invitation to stay another day. A party of French 
tourists have arrived, titled people, whom the Mahara- 
jah and his wife have visited in France in their chateau. 
They arrived too late for the birthday fetes, but his 
Highness has ordered games and sports in their honor 
and I am delighted to stay over for them. 

Later. 

I went with Miss Marsden to this festival where we 
sat behind the French party, three ladies and several 
men. They are in another guest-house. I imagine 
they do not spare the Maharajah's wine as I do. 

The sports began with acrobats for which I care little, 
then buffalo fights. These animals no sooner caught 
sight of each other than they rushed to the attack with 
such impetuous fury that their heads struck with a 
resounding noise. They then pushed and pushed and 
butted and butted with their noses bored in the ground 
till the attendants pulled them apart with ropes at- 
tached to their hind legs, still struggling to continue the 
combat to a finish. As their horns lie far back on their 
shoulders, there was no question of goring each other. 
The rams fought in a precisely similar manner with 
much impotent fury, but there was nothing barbarous 
about it. The elephants promised to be more exciting. 
They were huge creatures and of great value. I was 
told they were worth $5000 each. Their heads, 
snouts, and enormous tusks were painted in designs, 
and their bearing was very proud and stately. It was 
a thrilling moment while we waited to see what these 
moving mountains of flesh were going to do to each 
other. They approached with the greatest dignity, and 
by mutual and courteous consent began the most 



400 The Old World 

gentlemanly combat I ever expected to see, putting all 
other animals, including man, to shame. They pushed 
each other steadily with their broad foreheads, using 
sparingly their huge tusks, tokens of their rank and mas- 
culine supremacy. Unfortunately one had a tusk partly 
broken, for, of course, their strength is so great they 
cannot push and butt without results following, but 
really they showed great self-restraint, were thoroughly 
civil and courteous to each other. Their value is so 
great the Maharajah did not want them injured. This 
was the only combat between elephants, but at the end 
the biggest of them all came in accompanied by a light 
horseman who rode admirably. He circled round the 
elephant trying to tease him, and the crowd too tried to 
enrage the animal who wanted to be reasonable and 
could not understand how human beings could change 
so in the twinkling of an eye into a rabble of jeering, 
tormenting hoodlums. Sometimes he would lose 
patience and make a bolt at them at which they would 
scatter, but he could not remain in a bad humor, the 
kindly, honest beast. 

Though lack of time prevents me from repeating the 
long conversation I had with the prime minister during 
his call, I feel I must tell you what he said about the 
missionaries. I asked him for a candid and honest 
opinion, to which he replied: "Their influence has been 
excellent in India." Knowing him to be a Brahman 
of the highest rank, whose person the Hindoos hold 
sacred, I was astonished at this answer and asked for an 
explanation. He said the various religions of India had 
become hardened into superstitions. They needed an 
influence from without to arouse them, and the active 
propaganda of the missionaries had supplied this. Now 
all over the country there is spiritual activity. The 



Through Old Eyes 401 

leaders are trying to cast off impurities. They are 
putting, as it were, their own house in order to meet 
the competition of the missions. He talked a long 
time about the beauty and perfection of the Brahmani- 
cal religion. I understood, of course, that under it his 
influence was paramount. He is, therefore, naturally 
conservative and wishes no radical changes which would 
affect the status of the Brahmans. He gave me his 
photo signed with his name, under which he wrote 
"the 20th century Julius Ceesar. " 

Ahmadabad, Gujarat, 
March 20, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

Before leaving Baroda the superintendent of the 
guest-house took me to see the crown jewels. I never 
enjoyed looking at jewels as much before. One of the 
diamonds, called the Star of the South, belonged to the 
first Napoleon. Such necklaces, bracelets, and anklets 
of magnificent diamonds and emeralds I never saw. 
After this we went to see the two cannons, one of gold, 
the other of silver, mounted on gun carriages of brass 
plated with silver, each worth a fortune. Then we went 
to the elephant stables where we saw the combatants 
of the day before and the one I had ridden, "my ele- 
phant," These warriors had their faces fiercely 
painted and were chained far apart. I have, of course, 
seen many elephants before, though these were perhaps 
the largest, but I never saw anything like the wonder- 
ful state howdahs with the gorgeous elephant trap- 
pings and head ornaments. The state howdah of the 
Maharajah is of pure gold exquisitely ornamented. He 
alone sits in front, the seat behind is occupied on grand 
occasions by the prime minister. None of the keepers 

a6 



402 The Old World 

of these treasures would accept the fees I offered them, 
saying it was their duty to show them. 

GuEST-HousE, Udaipur, 
March 25, 1914. 

My dear Family : 

My last letter, describing my visit to Baroda, was 
mailed at Ahmadabad. I cannot expect again to have 
such a good time as during my visit to Baroda where 
I was received with such cordiality and had the rare 
fortune of attending so many interesting and pictur- 
esque functions. The Maharanee was about to leave 
Baroda for a tiger hunt, for she is quite a sportswoman 
and has already killed more than one tiger. I told her 
that none of my lady friends in America had ever gone 
tiger shooting and I had great admiration for her pluck 
and nerve. 

For Ahmadabad my good friend Miss Cursetje had 
given me a warm letter of introduction to a Mr. N. P. 
Vakil, a Parsi capitalist and member of the Viceroy's 
legislative council. He was absent from home, but 
sent a telegram to his family to attend to my comfort, 
which they did most thoroughly. To my surprise and 
somewhat to my confusion, I was met at the station 
by two young men, grandsons of Mr. Vakil, in a fine 
carriage and pair, bearing a great bouquet of lovely 
flowers. I felt that too much honor was being 
shown to a very simple old woman. I had written to 
Mr. Vakil when I should arrive and that I should go to 
the Grand Hotel where I hoped to see him. I had 
another introduction from Miss Gursetje to Miss 
Navalkar, principal of the Government Training 
School for Girls in Ahmadabad. She, too, had come 
to meet me. Next morning the father of one of the 




PRIME MINISTER OF BARODA 



Through Old Eyes 403 

young men came in a landau to show me the sights of 
Ahmadabad. I found most exquisite relics of the 
time of the Mohammedan Sultans of this city in the 
architecture of its mosques and in the lovely sculptures 
of its tombs. As the Vakil carriage came from a villa 
some miles in the country, I took the hotel carriage in 
the afternoons and the Vakil landau in the mornings. 
I was invited to tea at Miss Navalkar's the first after- 
noon. I had visited her training school that morning 
and had spoken to all the members of the classes who 
could understand English. I don't think they under- 
stood me very well, but the teachers were amused at 
my offhand discourse, and Miss Navalkar mentioned in 
her written invitation to tea that I should meet young 
ladies, not grandmothers, for I had said that morning 
that I felt more in touch with the rising generation than 
with my own. I had young Mr. Lalkaka, an artist 
and grandson of Mr. Vakil, to accompany me. I in- 
sisted on his going in to the tea party. Miss Navalkar 
seemed to have some doubts about his reception by the 
young ladies, but I said I thought as an artist he would 
be welcomed by them and, indeed, I think he was the 
feature of the occasion, for although none of them 
spoke to him, I am sure they were delighted to have him 
among them. Two very pretty ones sang together 
charmingly. I found I had to do all the talking, as it 
seemed to be expected of me. I literally talked the 
whole time I was in Ahmadabad and went to bed 
pretty well exhausted every night. The second after- 
noon I was invited to Mrs. Lalkaka's. Mr. Vakil has 
five daughters, no sons. Two of these married cousins, 
the brothers Lalkaka. Mr. Vakil built in a great com- 
pound surrounded by high walls five beautiful resi- 
dences for his daughters. Three of them live there, 



404 The Old World 

the other two in Bombay, but the latter spend a few 
days in their Ahmadabad homes each year. I was 
therefore invited to Mrs. Lalkaka's, daughter of 
Mr. Vakil, her husband his nephew. This latter 
gentleman took me around each morning, while the 
artist nephew accompanied me in the afternoons. I 
met many members of the family at the tea, the 
younger members speaking English very well. I 
had eaten but little lunch and the table was loaded 
with Parsee delicacies, so I tasted each dish and 
found them excellent. Mrs. Lalkaka, seeing that I 
liked the acid of tamarind very much, gave me a large 
bottle of the syrup to be drunk with water. It is very 
delicious, but the bottle is big and heavy. I shall take 
it to Shahjehanpur and leave it with the Morwoods. 
The proprietor of the Grand Hotel is a Parsi and he 
made my bill so moderate that I had to ask him if 
he had not forgotten my third night there. He said he 
had not charged it knowingly. One evening in the 
hotel an Englishman came on the veranda very drunk. 
He asked to shake hands with me which was very repug- 
nant to me. I have heard a good deal about drunkenness 
among foreigners in the Orient. The Hindoos, who 
have not been corrupted by foreign associations, do 
not drink at all. I was over twenty- four hours getting 
to Udaipur. This is served by a branch line which 
begins at Chitorgarh. Now I had no idea in passing 
through that place at daylight that it was the famous 
Chitor of Rajput history. The suffix "garh" con- 
fused me, but it simply means a fort. Chitor was for 
centuries the capital of the principal Rajput power in 
India, the one that never gave a daughter in marriage to 
the Grand Moguls at Delhi, nor to any of the Moslem 
Sultans of India, and they declare themselves now the 



Through Old Eyes 405 

allies of England, not her vassals. When I wrote to the 
secretary of the Maharajah of Udaipur, I said I should 
present my letters of introduction on my arrival and 
hoped to be his highness's guest during my visit. But 
having received no reply, I was entirely in doubt as to 
what would be the nature of my reception. To be a 
guest at a native court means many privileges, the 
most prized by me being an audience with the Mahara- 
jahs. The one at Udaipur is called Maharana, this being 
the title of the proud Mewar princes whose family name 
is Sesodia, descended from the Sun stock, their banner 
a golden sun. When I arrived at the Udaipur station 
about noon, I hoped to find a messenger at the car door, 
but was disappointed. I got two coolies to take my hand 
luggage and told them I was going to the hotel. They 
put it into the sorriest-looking vehicle with the sorriest- 
looking horses I have ever seen in any country in the 
world. But just as I was getting into this wretched 
concern a man handed me a paper on which was written 
"For Mrs. Ware to the Guest House." I had felt 
mortified and cast down, but all the time this carriage 
with coachman, footman and two superb horses, was 
there waiting for me. Still, mixed with the pleasure 
was some humiliation that no word of welcome had been 
offered me. It was so different in Baroda. Not only 
had I received a cordial invitation while still in Bombay, 
but the morning of my arrival a charming note was 
handed me at the station. In my letter to the private 
secretary of the Maharana, I had quoted the following 
passage from Colonel Sir James Roberts's letter to me : 
"If you go to Cashmere for the hot weather, please 
write and let me know, for her Excellency will be glad 
to assist you next season. Her Excellency has been 
much impressed by your covirage in setting out to travel 



4o6 The Old World 

around the world at your age, and she trusts your health 
is good and that you continue to enjoy your travels." 
Colonel Roberts then mentioned some of the native 
courts to which her Excellency promised to procure me 
invitations, Udaipur being one of these mentioned. I 
quoted this part of the letter also and stated frankly to 
the secretary that I was anticipating her Excellency's 
kind offices, because Udaipur, being on the way to 
Bhopal where I was going, it would save me from tak- 
ing again next season the very long trip to this part 
of India if I were allowed to make my visit at this time. 
The superb horses brought me over the three miles' 
distance from the station in short time. I found the 
Guest House situated on a hill overlooking one of 
the most beautiful lakes in all India. I forgot every- 
thing else in the delight in being in such a beautiful 
spot. I had also to bathe and change my clothing 
after the long, dusty railway trip. In short, I forgot to 
show the head steward of the Guest House my creden- 
tials, and it seems he is a person of much importance 
with his master, who receives reports direct from him. 
In looking over the two visitors' books, I see in the one 
devoted to "Remarks" endless panegyrics of this 
head steward, "Babu HarBaksh. " Now I shall not 
join in this note of praise, for he is the only person I 
have met in my travels who has doubted my word. 
He did nothing but his duty and I approve entirely 
of his caution, yet were I to engage in this competition 
of laudatory remarks, my heart would not be in it. He 
wrote me a note asking for my card that he might write 
to Colonel Roberts about me. I went to him immedi- 
ately with my papers, including Colonel Roberts's 
letter, of course. He read them all attentively and I 
think he was satisfied. He said he would report to his 



Through Old Eyes 407 

master. My first afternoon I devoted to the island 
palaces in the lake, including a row over its waters. 
In the late afternoon, I went to a high pavilion where 
I could see many wild hogs fed below on the rocks, while 
great numbers of peafowl circled around on the outer 
edge to get their share of the grain. I counted nine 
superb peacocks, their feathers gleaming in the 
evening sun. They would not let their beautiful 
tails drag upon the rocks. They were very long and 
it must have taken considerable muscular strength to 
hold them up out of the dust, but with all their greedi- 
ness they did not neglect to keep themselves clean and 
beautiful. I love animals in a state of nature, and I 
watched the sight from the terrace a long time, the hogs 
squealing and squabbling, the lovely peacocks with 
their squadron of hens circling around, evading the 
fights and dangers as best they could. 

Next morning I called on a high official (he asked me 
not to mention his name) . He received me most kindly, 
even cordially, so I felt emboldened to tell him that I 
had a great desire to ascend the mountain crowned by a 
white palace and overlooking the two lakes. He said 
it was a difficult excursion and would have to be taken 
on an elephant after a carriage drive of four miles. I 
said I should like the elephant ride above all things, 
provided I had a comfortable howdah. I also expressed 
my preference for red trappings. That afternoon at 
four o'clock I started in the carriage, and on arriving at 
the foot of the mountain found an immensely tall 
elephant with a mahout on his neck and an attendant 
with a sharp pointed pole. The howdah was extremely 
comfortable, provided with soft cushions on which I 
could recline as I chose. The ascent was a perfect 
delight — such marvelous views of the hills, of the two 



4o8 The Old World 

lakes, of Udaipur with its many palaces, and the white 
palaces on the islands. I felt the honor too of being on 
the elephant of the great R.ajput prince, traditional 
chief of all India's princes, but I could not but say to 
myself, with a laugh, that there was a great deal of exer- 
tion thrown in with the honor, for of all beasts the ele- 
phant is the greatest jogger. His legs seem to move 
evenly, but his body goes forward in jerks. He snorted 
a great deal too, sprinkling me liberally from time to 
time. But I was happy, and when I reached the top 
of the steep hill and saw that marvelous palace, I was 
filled with enthusiasm. It was entirely deserted but in 
perfect repair and shining with exquisite cleanliness. 
Its floors were of gleaming white marble; there were 
terraces at each story and Httle domed pavilions with 
slender columns and projecting balconies, here and 
there exquisite carvings. It was the enchanted white 
palace of a fairy tale. I went all through the purdah 
apartments, the rooms of which are not so large as the 
Maharana's, but with plenty of air and numerous closets 
with shelves. At each story I went out on a terrace or 
on the top of a round bastion and looked toward 
Udaipur and its lakes. The great palace of the Maha- 
rana crowns the ridge of a hill parallel with one of the 
lakes, and it, as well as the island palaces, is gleaming 
white. It is an immense mass resting on the terrace 
whose arcades rise from the banks of the lake and are 
fifty feet high. It is marvelously picturesque with its 
many domes, turrets, and pavilions, the latter connected 
with each other by balustrades of open tracery work in 
stone. The whole landscape is one of perfect beauty. 
The elephant attendant was my guide over the palace, 
and on one of the terraces he, by signs and an English 
word or two, led me to understand that the Maharana 



Through Old Eyes 409 

came there to shoot. I could see nothing living to 
shoot at but flocks of pigeons. I had heard that in 
winter wild hogs were shot to be eaten fresh but never 
to be cured into bacon or ham, so I saw no reason why- 
pigeons should not be shot also. I remained fascinated 
in that romantic mountain palace till it began to grow 
late. The ride down was rougher than going up, but I 
lay with my head toward the elephant's head and that 
made it far easier. This morning, about ten o'clock, 
I received a note from my kind friend, the official, 
saying he thought the Maharana would receive 
me, so I went to his house as he was to accompany 
me. But as usual I forgot my visiting cards and had 
to return to the Guest House for them. On arriving, 
I was told by my friend with some anxiety that he had 
not heard from his highness that morning. I said: 
"Send a messenger." He did so. While waiting I 
found a wonderfully interesting book called A Forgotten 
Chapter in the Great Mutiny, by Major-General Showers, 
and I was so engrossed in it that I did not think about 
the messenger. At length my friend came to say that 
we must go immediately to the palace where his high- 
ness would receive me before going leopard shooting. 
The palace was a half -hour's brisk driving. We entered 
under the great portals and passed through several 
ante-chambers filled with attendants before reaching the 
apartment where the prince sat. He was much darker 
than I expected, and had his long mustaches and beard 
parted and brushed to each side. The Rajputs seem all 
to wear beards and mustaches after this fashion. I 
told his highness I had been reading of the greatness 
and heroism of his House, the Sun stock, ranking 
princes among the Rajputs. He asked my friend, who 
interpreted, if I had never before heard of the Rajputs 



4IO The Old World 

and Rajputana. I said of course I had but had never 
read a detailed history of his family till the day be- 
fore. I then told him of my beautiful elephant ride and 
of the lovely palace on the mountain, but when I 
related to him that I had stood on the spot where he 
shot pigeons from the high terrace, he was so amazed 
I think he forgot his dignity for the moment and asked 
eagerly who told me that. I said: "The elephant 
man, " whereupon his dignity gave way entirely and he 
actually laughed heartily. He said he not only never 
shot pigeons himself, but he never permitted one to be 
shot. I stood up to imitate the elephant man, demon- 
strating in dumb show how he shot pigeons. He 
seemed much amused. I told him of the wild pigs and 
peafowls I loved to look at because they were free 
and of my delight at the beauty of the lakes. I said 
when I first went round the world with my son, I 
had heard there was no land like Japan, but I had 
found India more varied in art and in architecture as 
well as in its different races and religions; that there 
was endless variety in India and it was so crowded 
with historic spots and the scenes of great events that 
to me it was the most fascinating and interesting land 
on earth. I believe I interested him. I had asked 
my friend to make the move to go, and told him to let 
the visit be short as his highness was all prepared for 
the leopard shooting, but my friend made no move, so, 
admonished by my experience with Yuan Shi Kai, I 
got up, and shaking hands cordially with his highness 
expressed my pleasure at the interview. I was then 
taken to see the heir apparent who lives in a detached 
palace near by. It was a charming home, and I was 
introduced immediately into the presence of the Crown 
Prince. As he stood up to greet me, I was struck by his 



Through Old Eyes 411 

small stature, scarcely taller than a boy of ten. I sat 
beside him. He had on a brocaded silk coat quite long, 
and a turban, of course. He spoke English, so there 
was no need of an interpreter. My friend explained 
later that the young man has tuberculosis of the spine 
and had been confined to bed on his back for three 
years. The doctors had done a great deal for him and 
he was now better, but when I rose to go an attendant 
had to help him to his feet. He looked young. His 
father is sixty-four, old for an Oriental monarch. Be- 
fore starting for my interview with the Maharana, I was 
warned not to mention any member of his women folk. 
I asked if his mother was living. ' ' Yes, she was living. ' ' 
I said: "Can't I just ask after the health of the old lady, 
and whether she is as old or older than I?" "By no 
means. You must not mention the subject." Now 
I wanted above all things to inquire about that old 
princess, but I dared not do so. I was at the head 
center of conservatism, and in India. For me to have 
seen those harem ladies and talked to them would have 
been like spreading the pest in a healthy community. 
I have met some guests in the Guest House and we 
talk to each other, though I do not know their names. 
I have learned a little gossip in this way. The court 
of Udaipur blames severely the emancipation of the 
ladies in the Baroda court, and I imagine the discom- 
fiture of the beautiful Maharanee, when her daughter 
failed to get Sindhia and ran away to be married, was as 
a choice morsel to the court of Udaipur. In Udaipur, 
the officials are natives almost to a man. The private 
secretary is, of course, a native. One of the guests, 
a gentleman, asked if I knew I was coming to the Guest 
House when I arrived. I said : ' ' No, I was starting for the 
Hotel when the paper was put into my hands. " " They 



412 The Old World 

did not send you any communication?" he asked. 
"No," I answered. From these remarks I concluded 
that he and his wife had been similarly treated, which 
I must confess was consoling to me. The officials I see 
here are all old like their master. 

Apropos of the gossip about the Baroda family, and 
of the affair between the princess and Sindhia of Gwalior, 
it is commonly reported that they were engaged, but his 
mother was bitterly opposed to his marrying a young 
lady who had broken with caste and with purdah; it was 
her opposition which had caused Sindhia to break off the 
engagement. If this is true, it is a glimpse into the 
struggle going on between the old order and the new in 
India, the former still the stronger. Undoubtedly it 
will not do for any of these rulers to break too suddenly 
with old traditions and customs for they would thereby 
lose influence over the people. It seems odd to us that 
whereas women in western countries wield influence in 
proportion to their character and intelligence, in the 
Orient it is in proportion to their age. The Baroda 
family are interesting because they are cultivated and 
intelligent, the Maharajah particularly so. He has 
introduced everywhere in his dominion fine schools, 
and takes the deepest interest in the advancement of his 
subjects. The gossip of the Guest House also says 
that the Cooch-Behar husband is not worthy, in point of 
rank, of the princess. I am told that Sindhia demanded 
that she should return to purdah, which she refused 
to do, so the match was broken off to the sorrow of her 
parents. The orthodox Hindoos laugh at the Baroda 
family for being progressive and say: "Look how they 
imitate the English." They believe. too that it bodes 
them no good, but I believe Baroda is one of the most 
prosperous states in India, if not the most prosperous. 






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MAHARAJAH OF UDAIPUR 



Through Old Eyes 413 

I asked Babu Har Baksh if he would eat or drink 
an5rthing from my hand if he were perishing. He said 
he could take no food from me, nor water, unless it were 
bottled soda-water. Now if he were perishing of 
thirst, I might find it difficult to get bottled soda- 
water. Except for this soda-water, he said he would die 
before he would accept what I offered. I read in the 
Visitor's Book, in one of the panegyrics on Babu 
Har Baksh, that he was "the best guide, philosopher, 
and friend." I told him of these words and he called 
a servant immediately to fetch the book. When he 
had mastered the effusion, he asked me what "philo- 
sopher" meant, and I think he was pleased with the 
definition I gave him. 

Everywhere in upper India I see wild monkeys. At 
Ahmadabad one afternoon, when the artist was driving 
me out to see his grandfather's villa, I saw a whole 
conclave of monkeys holding council by the side of the 
road. They were seated in a big circle. Others were 
perched on the stone posts protecting the sides of the 
road. Their faces were very black and their hair, which 
was light, framed in their black faces like a hood. I 
got out of the carriage to look at and admire them. 
They looked at me in such a human way I could not 
help a fellow feeling for them. They have a very good 
time in India. I enjoyed wandering through Mr. 
Vakil's villa and beautiful grounds. He has deeded 
the use of the great drawing-room and dining-room 
to any Christian or Parsi families who need large rooms 
for festivities, such as marriages, state dinners, etc. 
Mr. Tata's father gave thirty lakhs of rupees to found 
in Bangalore (Mysore) an institute of research. Mur- 
ray says it bids fair to win a world-wide fame. A lakh 
of rupees is one hundred thousand, so this gift was three 



414 The Old World 

million rupees or one million dollars. Everywhere in 
India one hears of the public spirit of the Parsis. They 
seem to be the most public spirited people in the world. 
There are only about 86,000 of them in India. 

Later. Station Chitorgarh. 

After my interview at the palace, I went to see the 
Cenotaphs of the royal family, which were interesting, 
some indeed beautiful. After cremation, the ashes are 
gathered up and preserved in these graceful little tem- 
ples, husbands and wives together. Some of the most 
beautiful are going to ruin. I got back to the Guest 
House to a two-o'clock lunch after which I had to pack 
and be off to see the museum, situated in a fine garden. 
I carried my luggage with me in the carriage as I went 
from the museum to the train. The dining-room ser- 
vant brought me a plate of nice lunch to bring away 
with me. I got to Chitorgarh at ten and have to wait 
till two-thirty to-night before my train arrives. I 
have employed this time in finishing my letter to catch 
the Bombay mail steamer. I had such a nice telegram 
from Bhopal telling me to come at once. I had inquired 
if it would be convenient to receive me now. 

UjJAIN, 

March 26, 1914. 

P. S. I find that my itinerary is incorrect. I must 
wait at this station till nine o'clock to-night and not 
reach Bhopal until seven-thirty to-morrow morning. 
In telling you of my visit to Ahmadabad I forgot to 
mention the Mohammedan match factory I was taken 
to see, and where I viewed the whole process of making 
matches with much interest. Several boxes of pyro- 
technic ones were given to me. I saw much unneces- 



Through Old Eyes 4^5 

sary waste and inefficiency, and pointed out a simple 
remedy for some of the waste, but no attention was paid 
to me. The manager, a devout Moslem, talked to me 
a long time about the beauties of his religion. He said 
it was a religion of peace and brotherly love, that all 
the wars fought by Mohammedans had been forced on 
them, that the Koran inculcated peace and they would 
not fight unless compelled to do so. It was useless 
to argue with a man so ignorant of history, and besides 
I was glad he held such laudable opinions. As to the 
factory, I believe that cheap labor is a curse to this 
country, and think of a land where a moderate-sized 
family employ some ten to twenty servants ! 

Chitorgarh, 
March 31, 1914. 

My dear Family : 

I shall now tell you of my very delightful visit to 
Bhopal. I was met at the train by a superb equipage 
and driven to the Guest House situated in lovely 
gardens, the finest flowers I have seen in India. I wrote 
at once to the secretary that I should not leave the 
Guest House until I knew at what hour her Highness, 
the Begum, would receive me. I did not remember 
that it was Friday, a sacred day on which no business is 
transacted, so I wondered in vain why I got no answer. 
Next day a lady staying in the house told me I should 
have sent at once for the superintendent of the Guest 
House. I did this and he made all arrangements for me. 
There were several guests in the house. One of the 
gentlemen at the table told me he had never seen the 
Begum, though he had had many transactions with her. 
He could only talk to her through a curtain. When 
she appears in public she is closely veiled. 



4i6 The Old World 

I was driven out four miles to the palace and received 
first by a native guest. She had come for a visit and 
was taken ill with measles and was still too weak to 
return home. She spoke English very well. There 
was a baby present, grandchild to the Begum, in the 
arms of its nurse. It had beautiful eyes and was very 
friendly. When the Begum appeared, she was very 
simply attired. I hear this is a matter of pride with 
her. Her feet were bare, she wore tight trousers 
with thin drapery over them, the regular costume for 
Mohammedan ladies. She is not very dark and has a 
commanding expression. Her mouth rather spoils her 
face, for her teeth are dark from betel chewing. This 
interview was short and I spent next day visiting vari- 
ous places. I went to the palaces of her two sons, the 
Crown Prince, and his younger brother, general of the 
native troops. I found in the Guest House here a 
Life of the Begum written very frankly by herself. I 
read it with great interest. In it she tells of all the 
sorrows of her life, how as a child, and later, she was 
persecuted by her stepfather who completely domin- 
ated her mother. Even on her death-bed the mother 
refused to see her, and ordered her and the grandchild, 
she had never seen, from the room. The British were 
much dissatisfied with the stepfather and reduced 
his honors, all of which he ascribed to the machinations 
of the Begum. As the English took her part in all 
this, one is bound to accept her account as correct. 

In this state three Begums have succeeded one an- 
other in the government, male heirs failing. Each had 
a long reign and each has been highly endorsed by the 
EngHsh. The Begum of that day stood by the British 
during the mutiny. Both Macaulay and Mill speak 
with surprise of the genius for government shown by 



Through Old Eyes 417 

these secluded women. I did not expect to meet the 
princes personally when I drove out to their palaces, so 
I merely wore my traveling dress. But the letter from 
Sir James Roberts proved an open sesame, and I was 
delightfully received both by them and their families. 
On my arrival, Mrs. Wheeler, the English governess, 
met and took me into the home of the second son, the 
general. We went to the class-room of the three little 
sons who were studying the Koran with their Arabic 
teacher when I entered. They had just come in from a 
ride and wore riding costumes with tall white turbans. 
They were well-bred and intelligent and very handsome 
boys too, speaking English very well. We then went 
to the zenana to meet the mother of these charming 
boys. She is the most beautiful woman I have yet seen 
in India, almost white, beautifully shaped, with the 
sweetest and most engaging manners. She wore the 
tightest possible trousers of pale blue satin. I am 
told it is a trying job for the maids to encase their 
mistress's limbs in these garments. Over these she wore 
diaphanous draperies of pale blue, stockings and 
slippers on her small feet. She could not speak Eng- 
lish, the governess had to translate for her. The boys 
did it better, but not caring for oiur conversation, they 
left us. On our way to the house of the Crown Prince, 
we met him and he took me in his car telling me it was 
an American make, the Studebaker. He was his own 
chauffeur and took me to the zenana to see his wife and 
children. The two wives are sisters. While I cannot 
say that the Crown Princess and her children are 
homely, yet after the beauty of the other family, they 
looked very plain. I met the father of these two ladies 
on the road and should 'like to get his picture. He is very 
striking looking with his immense turban and huge black 



41 8 The Old World 

whiskers massed together and standing at right angles to 
his face in an astonishing manner. I told the general that 
I was anxious to visit Afghanistan next September and 
asked his advice. He said he had tried in vain to get 
permission for Baron Rothschild to go into the Emir's 
country. I said the two cases were very different, that 
every brigand in that turbulent land would be eager to 
get at Baron Rothschild, but I was an humble tourist 
willing to wait until some convoy was actually going up, 
that I should give no trouble or expense. The general 
remained unconvinced, but I made a convert of his 
doctor who told me his mother was an Afghan and he 
had long wanted to visit that country. In fact, that he 
would like to go with me. I was charmed. I did not 
offer to pay him a salary, but said I should pay all 
expenses. He may have taken me for an American 
millionaire ready to employ him as doctor and guide. 
He told me he had been three months in a Constanti- 
nople hospital during the Balkan war. 

At five o'clock Monday afternoon, I went to a 
meeting of the Purdah Club instituted by the Begum. 
Miss Murphy, her lady doctor, went with me. I had 
a carriage placed absolutely at my disposal all the time 
I was at Bhopal, as was also the case at the two other 
courts. We found the ladies at the Purdah Club ranged 
in two long rows and the Begum was playing on what 
looked like a toy piano, not three feet long, to which 
some of them sang. I felt really affectionate toward 
her now for I had read her book and met her sons and 
grandchildren. I had so much to say that I began at 
once and never ceased until a servant handed her a tray 
of bouquets which the Begum had to distribute. I told 
her of the doctor's offer to go to Afghanistan with me. 
She seemed much surprised and said: "He is a state 



Through Old Eyes 419 

servant and cannot be spared. He is employed to 
teach students, and I do not believe he can speak a word 
of Afghan." 

I met some very interesting people in the Guest 
House, among them Sir John and Lady Harrington. 
She is a Canadian but thoroughly English in sentiment . 
They both know Roosevelt and do not approve of him 
or his methods. Sir John told me that the United States 
needed a thorough taking down. I said : ' ' Do you mean 
a thrashing?" "Yes," he replied emphatically. I 
answered : ' ' Doubtless, but we shall not get it, for no one 
can give it to us. Like belling the cat, it is desirable 
but difficult." He thought Cleveland's Venezuela 
message should have led to a war. I said he should 
consider Cleveland's state of mind at the time, harried 
and worried beyond measure by his own party, unable 
to fulfill the pledges he had made owing to party dis- 
sensions. I said I thought it probable that he had 
turned in despair to this desperate means for regaining 
popularity. I had to own that I was in Europe at the 
time and not in touch with American politics and had 
only formed that conclusion as an excuse, though an 
inadequate one, for the want of courtesy of his ulti- 
matum, and that I had been distressed to see that mes- 
sage applauded by so many Americans who think the 
proper way to show strength is to bully other and 
friendly nations. All the English I meet here are 
violently Tory. The liberals seem to stay at home. 
You should hear these fine people questioning me and 
see the astonishment my answers give. "Are you 
traveling alone?" "Yes." "Not entirely alone?" 
"Yes." "Not even a servant?" "No." "But how 
on earth do you get on without one?" "Remarkably 
well. I have far less to do when traveling than at home 



420 The Old World 

where I wait on others besides myself. " They then 
say that I am a very remarkable person, but they are 
far from meaning this as a compliment. 

I must tell you that the Begum invited me to return 
to Bhopal when I come back from Cashmere. I was 
highly flattered by her invitation, but of course I can- 
not accept it. 

Benares, India, 
April 8, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

I had one of the finest visits of my life in Shahjehan- 
pur at the Morwoods. I fell in love with the whole 
family, four beautiful children, and Mrs. Morwood, 
extremely good-looking and interesting, while Colonel 
Morwood is very attractive and agreeable. The oldest 
child, Elizabeth, aged six, followed me about to see 
what she could do for me. The afternoon I arrived, 
Mrs. Morwood gave a garden party that I might at 
once meet her friends. Needless to say, these were the 
best people in the English circle. That night we were 
engaged to dine out, next evening a formal dinner at the 
Morwoods, so you see after traveling among natives so 
long, I was plunged into European society. The house is 
handsome, in the midst of a large garden full of flowers. 
Among Mrs. Morwood' s friends is a niece of the Hindoo 
poet, Tagore. She is a Brahman widow of about thirty. 
Her husband held an important civil post. He died 
two years ago and left her very wealthy. Her home 
is near the Morwoods'. Oddly enough, she wants 
to travel with me, wants to go to Persia, Afghanistan, 
and even as far as Cabul, and says the danger is only 
an added attraction. All this sounds very charming, 
but we cannot make definite plans so soon. The 



Through Old Eyes 421 

morning I left, the whole Morwood family were up to 
see me off and I had a hot breakfast at five- thirty. Mrs. 
Morwood gave me a card of introduction to Miss 
Flora Robinson, sister to the principal of the Isabella 
Thobern College in Lucknow, where I was most kindly 
taken in for the twenty -four hours I spent in that city. 
It proved one of the happy episodes of my Indian 
trip. Miss Robinson is really fascinating and I was 
captivated by her. Though very busy, she managed 
to accompany me in my drive. We went, of course, to 
the old British Residency which withstood the long siege 
in the great mutiny. Here Sir Henry Lawrence was 
killed and here is his tomb. On it, his noble dying 
words are so awkwardly expressed that they become 
somewhat equivocal. He said : " I tried to do my duty , ' ' 
The inscription reads: "Here lies Sir Henry Lawrence, 
who tried to do his duty." (He certainly did it.) 
Lucknow was once the capital city of Oude. It was 
the deposition of the last corrupt king and the incor- 
poration of Oude into British territory which aggravated 
the discontent leading up to the mutiny. 

The evening I got to Lucknow, t[ attended a conference 
of missionaries. I was anxious to hear the speeches, 
but after rising at four and traveling nearly all day, 
I could not keep my eyes open and was only roused by 
an introduction to Bishop Wame. This waked me up 
fully, for I have heard much of him and was anxious 
to meet him and to hear of the great mass movement 
of the pariahs into the Christian Church. He told me 
that last year he had baptized 48,000 of these outcasts. 
He attended a conference of their delegates a short time 
ago where he met three thousand eight hundred men 
representing many villages. They sat up all night ask- 
ing him questions and listening to his explanations, and 



422 The Old World 

in the dim dawn they returned to their people satisfied. 
These are all to be baptized. The missionaries are few 
and this influx of new converts is enormous. They 
call meetings of the village headmen and teach them 
the tenets of our faith, these then go home and instruct 
the rest. The outcasts or, as the government calls 
them, the fifth caste, are the descendants of the con- 
quered races, conquered so many centuries ago and yet, 
during all this time, treated as pariahs, whose touch 
is defiling to the Aryan or Brahmanical race. These 
poor, long-suffering people have never been allowed to 
enter a temple, they make for themselves poor little 
idols to comfort themselves withal, but they are now 
deserting their unnatural fellow countrymen, who have 
been only oppressors, and are coming in great masses 
into the Christian fold. The Brahmans are stirred by 
this disaffection of their patient victims, but not being 
prepared to yield anything, clinging blindly to the past, 
they cannot arrest the movement. I believe it is a 
momentous one in the history of India. As Bishop 
Warne says, the foundations are being undermined by 
the defection of these multitudes, who are the hard 
workers of the land. They will become slowly educated 
in mission and government schools, and no doubt in 
time, supplant many of their Brahman superiors. I 
said to the Bishop: "This mass movement must have 
some other cause than conversion, for these poor 
people, sunk in ignorance, can have no real idea of our 
faith. Don't you think the message of equality, of 
freedom from caste, has penetrated among them and 
moved them toward the light of a better day dawning 
for them and theirs?" He answered: "It is the spirit 
of God moving them. It is His mighty work. " What 
pleases me most in this movement is that our mission- 



Through Old Eyes 423 

aries no longer accept individual converts from pariah 
villages ; all must come in together, so there are no more 
martyrs now. I was greatly pleased with Bishop Warne, 
an earnest, noble-hearted man. 

The Isabella Thobern is a fine school where English is 
taught from the primary grades. I thitik our language 
is the greatest boon any school can confer on these 
people, but the English government insists that all 
schools receiving state aid shall teach the vernacular 
only in the primary grade. They hope it may thus 
become the vehicle of a great native literature just as 
German became when the great thinkers of that race 
abandoned French and wrote in their native tongue. 
While I do not agree with the government on this sub- 
ject, I think it a disinterested position for them to take. 
How little justice do they receive from foreign critics as 
to their course in India and how generous in them to help 
American mission schools at all ! 

When Flora Robinson found that my heart was, as it 
were, set on sugar-cane, she had two big stalks cut up 
and tied in a package for my journey. Armed with this , 
I said good-bye to my new-made friends with a real 
heart pang. I was so weary when I left Lucknow that 
I fell asleep on the train, and when I woke with a start 
and looked out, I saw the city of Benares receding in the 
distance. I screamed to the signal man but all to no 
purpose. I thought I was on a through train which 
would not stop for hours, but fortunately I was mis- 
taken. It halted only three miles off. I sprang out 
and ordered two coolies to bring out my luggage. I 
then consulted the station-master who advised me to 
take a gharry and drive to Benares. Now there was a 
dust storm blowing which had forced me to keep the 
windows closed all day on the train, but in spite of that 



424 The Old World 

I got in the gharry and started. After a short time, I 
found I had left my precious sugar-cane at the station, so 
back we went only to find that some other lover of 
sweets had carried it ofif. Sugar-cane restores my 
digestion when other things fail. After many blunders, 
my driver got me to Mrs. Joseph's house at last, and 
when I saw the pretty garden and the little lady stand- 
ing on her veranda, I could have hugged her for joy. 
"Are you Mrs. Ware, and why did you not arrive on the 
2:40? I sent my servant to meet you," asked Mrs. 
Joseph as she welcomed me. "Because I was asleep 
at that time, " I said. She showed me into a delight- 
fully clean and comfortable room and in a few moments 
we sat down to tea and became friends at once. What 
a kindness that missionary lady did me when she put 
Mrs. Joseph's name on my list ! This morning she went 
with me on the boat trip on the Ganges. When I 
took this trip with Sedley seventeen years ago, we had a 
hotel guide and oh, what a difference! Mrs. Joseph 
knew and explained everything and made it so interest- 
ing. Great palaces line the Benares bank of the river. 
She had heard something of interest about everyone. 
Then there were the temples and the ghats with their 
long flights of steep steps, and the streams of pilgrims 
bathing, praying, washing their babies and their scanty 
clothing, and cleaning their shining brass bowls. You 
see mothers putting shrieking children into the stream 
and making them drink its water, while dead bodies 
of men and beasts in every stage of decay go floating 
past with crows and vultures fighting over them. I 
can't see why they don't all die, but evidently they do 
not. We stopped at a burning ghat where two bodies 
had just arrived and were being burned. I saw the 
trunk of one body roll off the pile to the stone floor and 



Through Old Eyes 425 

continue to bum there. One female corpse dressed in red 
was immersed in the river. The other, of a man superb- 
ly dressed, was merely sprinkled with the water. When 
his face was uncovered, I could see his attendants sob- 
bing with every sign of intense grief. When the burning 
was over, water was poured on the pyre and the refuse 
was thrown into the river where a man began stirring up 
the water and catching the bits of floating charcoal. 
This charcoal is then packed in sacks and taken to the 
city where it is prepared and sold for use in pipes, and it 
is said to hold fire a long time. At the top of the bank 
was the house of the priests who keep the sacred fire for 
kindling the pyres. They charge for this in proportion 
to the wealth of the deceased, and in the case of a 
Maharajah, extort a princely sum. They become 
very wealthy. While I was watching this scene, there 
suddenly appeared a man on top of the bank dancing 
and whirling in the wildest, strangest dance. He wore 
a short red skirt cut in detached widths and highly 
ornamented, over this a wide leather belt with many 
dangling bells. His whirling movement made his dress 
fly out in every direction. One can hardly imagine such 
incongruities any-where else in the world. 

Benares is always full of pilgrims, yogis, and fakirs, 
the strangest, wildest gang. Religion seems to fill the 
thoughts of Orientals more than any other people. 
Indeed, it absorbs their whole being. We saw many 
men so rapt in prayer that nothing could distract their 
attention. The Maharajahs who have palaces here 
come to them when they believe death is near, leaving 
their courts to their successors and spending their last 
days in religious contemplation. From the river we 
went to the market. If I had room in my luggage, I 
should buy a good deal of this brass work. We then 



426 The Old World 

went to the monkey temple where there are numbers of 
monkeys, some very large. Mrs. Joseph said: "Don't 
buy any food for these monkeys, they are kept stuffed 
all the time. " They were indeed very fat, but while I 
gazed innocently at them, one crept under my dress 
and bit me on the leg. The keeper said he was angry 
at my not buying any food. I was so' astonished at 
the sharp pain I could hardly believe my senses, but it 
was not a serious wound, and I could not help laughing 
to see how like they were to human beggars who grow 
furious at being denied. Then we went to the cow 
temple and saw three fat, stupid cows being worshipped 
by streams of pilgrims who marched round and round 
their shrine, thereby acquiring merit. There were 
little naked boys trotting by their mothers, each face 
set in stern gravity. A priest puts a dab of red paint 
on their foreheads as they pass in. Coming home we 
passed the great college which Mrs. Annie Besant helped 
to build. An attendant told me there were thirteen 
hundred students in attendance. It is a favorite 
institution with wealthy Hindoos who patronize it liber- 
ally. Mrs. Joseph has heard that Mrs. Besant no 
longer has anything to do with it, but does not know 
if this is true. 

Agra Fort, 
April 14, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

From Benares I went to Cawnpore where I stayed 
in the American Methodist Mission. It was a happy 
choice, for Dr. and Mrs. Ashe were lovely to me. I 
found myself obliged to consult a dentist at once. The 
Ashes go to Lucknow for dentist work, but said there 
was a Eurasian dentist in Cawnpore. To him I went. 








^ ^. , 


t — 











BURNING GHAT. BENARES 



Through Old Eyes 427 

Ever since coming to India I have been maintaining 
that Eurasians should go into dentistry as a suitable 
occupation for them. The American dentists over here 
charge high and competition is badly needed, but this 
man speedily convinced me of the error of my judgment. 
The place was extremely dirty, the man the roughest 
practitioner into whose hands I ever fell. He burnt my 
tongue so that after a week it is still painful, and he 
hurt my jaw so badly that between it and the burn I 
quite forgot the misery of the tooth. On Good Friday 
I started to resee Cawnpore after a lapse of seventeen 
years. I went first to the beautiful garden so mar- 
velously lovely and so filled with poignant associations. 
The Angel of the Resurrection has been surrounded 
by a Gothic screen since I was here. Formerly the 
glimpses of the Angel through the vistas of the shrub- 
bery were so beautiful, and the view of it from distant 
points made it the dominating note of the landscape. 
Now the screen merely looks like the tall curbing of a 
well, and suggests only that awful well which one would 
like to forget if possible and remember only the Angel 
of forgiveness and the resurrection. 

I went down to the river Ganges where the massacres 
began that awful June morning; the associations were 
too painful to dwell on. From there I went to the 
Memorial Church, arriving just as the services began. 
I gladly joined the congregation, largely made up of 
soldiers in dazzling white summer uniforms. No 
soldiers dress so well as the British. Their clothes fit 
so well. Each private has that look of distinction 
which belongs only to officers in other armies. During 
the service, the colonel of the regiment rose from his 
place and going to the lectern read the lesson for the day 
so well and so clearly that I could hear each word. He 



428 The Old World 

wore his sword. After service I asked some question 
of a lady sitting in the pew. She said, "Have you 
seen the horrible picture?" When I answered that I 
had not, she offered to show it to me. She drew aside 
a curtain. After the English retook Cawnpore, an 
officer who could draw sketched the scene in the house 
where the butchery of the women and children had 
taken place. It was the butchers of the town who per- 
formed this office as the native soldiers refused. I told 
the lady that I had been struggling against my feelings 
all morning in the garden and at the massacre ghat on 
the river and now that picture was too much. After 
she left me, I examined the memorial tablets on the 
walls to the memory of those who perished during the 
relief expedition. As I was leaving the church, the 
colonel came up and most courteously offered to show 
me the grounds. This was an offer not to be refused 
and he made it most interesting. I could understand 
the hopeless nature of the defense, and that well 60 ft. 
deep under fire all the time, and their only source of 
water supply! Saddest of all is a recent discovery of 
the Archaeological Society : two underground passages in 
perfect condition, vaulted and bricked. They would 
have given coolness and shelter to the wounded and to 
the women and children, but no one suspected their 
existence. The colonel most politely offered to come 
for me in the afternoon and show me over Cawnpore, 
but as I was leaving at once I was forced to decline. It 
was very picturesque to see those soldiers listening to 
their colonel read the Bible. It took me back to the 
time in history when church and army were most inti- 
mately connected, a romantic period in the retrospect, 
but the return of which one cannot wish. From 
Cawnpore I went to Agra where I remained four days. 



Through Old Eyes 429 

Here I was again received by the American Methodist 
Mission. The preacher and his family are Eurasians. 
They had no other guests and made me most comfort- 
able. On Easter Sunday I went to the English church 
where I admired the fine-looking Highlanders and other 
soldiers in their pure white uniforms, but no officer took 
part in the services as at Cawnpore. I spent a good 
deal of time in the fort. Since I was there in 1897, 
the government has made most judicious restorations, 
not only restoring the buildings but taking them from 
the modern usages to which they had been put. I went 
twice to the Taj Mahal, certainly the most beautiful 
building in this world. But it is too provoking that 
shrubbery has been allowed to impede the view. One 
gets no overpowering first impression as formerly. The 
guide-book advises to cross the river whence such a view 
can be obtained, but it was so hot I did not do this. 
I did, however, catch one matchless glimpse from a 
bridge. The structure seemed to be rising out of the 
earth through its own buoyancy and lightness. It was 
but a moment, for my conveyance was pushed on in the 
dense stream of travel. That screen of cypress trees 
should be removed and the gardens filled with roses 
and other small plants so that the full beauty of the 
building may be enjoyed. The view which used to 
take one's very breath away is gone. 

MURREE, 

April 20, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

I spent four restful days at Lahore with Mr. and Mrs. 
Lucas. He has made a very happy marriage with the 
daughter of Dr. Ewing of the Presbyterian Mission. 
Dr. Ewing was so busy I saw but little of him, but his 



430 The Old World 

wife drove me over Lahore and was a very interesting 
companion. The E wings have Hved there for thirty- 
years. He is president of the college and seems a man 
of great importance in the city. One thing which every 
tourist visits in Lahore is the great cannon on wheels 
on which Kim was astride when he first met the Lama. 
I often remind myself of that old Lama, because I let 
so many people acquire merit by being good to me, but 
I suppose I am really more like the old woman in the 
same book who talked so incessantly about her grand- 
children. The great cannon no longer stands before 
the museum, because the latter has been moved to a 
fine new building. I was much interested in the Bud- 
dhist statuary in this museum. It shows very strongly 
the Greek influence on sculpture resulting from the 
invasion of Alexander. You remember how they excited 
the admiration of the old Lama. 

I went to the Purdah Club with Mrs. Ewing. Re- 
membering the one at Bhopal and how simply the 
women dressed, I merely wore my traveling dress and 
got out the wonderful bonnet from its paper bag, the 
bonnet which Laura trimmed and which is to last for 
the whole trip. It always gives me the sensation of 
being much dressed when I wear it. I beat out the 
dust and its flowers (real immortelles) bloom again in 
freshness for me. When I reached the house and met a 
crowd of beautifully dressed English and Mohammedan 
ladies, I felt very humble indeed. The receiving lady 
wore gold tissue and gorgeous jewels. The other Orien- 
tal ladies vied with her, and two English ladies of title 
were exquisitely dressed. We sat on a terrace overlook- 
ing a rose garden. I could not understand a word of the 
proceedings, which were in the native dialect. 

One morning I visited Amritza by train, the holy city 



Through Old Eyes 431 

of the Sikhs. The golden temple there is very striking, 
standing in the center of a big tank. In the second-class 
compartment of the train I found a young Irish soldier 
who was smoking and reclining in very easy fashion. 
He sprang up when I entered, but I told him I was very 
indulgent to young people and that he need not disturb 
himself. Presently two Hindoo ladies, modestly and 
neatly dressed, got in, but they only remained a few 
moments. Soon after they left us the conductor came 
and asked which of us had ordered them out. We all 
spoke up and denied it except the soldier. I said I had 
been sorry to see them go. Then the soldier said, "I 
drove them out." I was sorry to see those decent 
people so wantonly insulted. I was told of a case where 
a noble Punjabi and his wife were treated similarly 
by two English officers in the first-class. They called 
the guard and said: "Take these niggers out of here." 
I believe the bad manners of the English is the most 
potent cause of Indian discontent. I was so sorry not 
to be able to discuss this with Dr. Ewing, the more so 
as he is a warm supporter of British rule in India, as I 
am myself. Now I shall give you the English arguments 
on the other side. The Hindoos have not our customs. 
They generally chew betel and spit on the floors. They 
often act in a way that is very offensive to our taste. 
They are far from neat in the toilet rooms and leave 
them generally unfit for our use. On the train on which 
I left Lahore, I found myself in the compartment with 
a Mohammedan family, a lady with four children. 
The husband was, of course, in another section. I was 
tired and very sleepy so I made my bed and composed 
myself to rest. It was ten minutes after eleven, and 
still my fellow travelers made no motion toward pre- 
paring for sleep though they were to pass the night on 



432 The Old World 

the car. They talked the whole time so that I could get 
no rest. The eldest boy spoke a little English and I 
asked him to try to keep the others quiet, which had no 
effect whatever. At the next station, the father came 
to the window to converse with his family and I asked 
him, "Are your children never going to sleep?" He 
answered that they had slept much during the day and 
were not sleepy. Not until one o'clock did they quiet 
down. The baby wore no clothes whatever and soiled 
both floor and seats. The toilet room was in such a 
condition that I could not enter it. It was my first 
disagreeable experience on second-class trains which 
are really very good and comfortable in the north of 
India. I generally took first-class tickets except for a 
few extra trips which I added to my itinerary for short 
distances, and I have usually had a compartment to 
myself. This woman seemed very lazy and took no 
care of her children. They were good children but 
without any guidance. The boy who spoke English 
was extremely courteous and obliging and pleased me. 
The baby stood in such awe of me that it was comical 
and kept the lazy mother amused. I hope never to 
have such another experience, but it certainly gave me 
an object lesson as to why the English will not travel 
with natives. I joined the Morwoods at Rawalpindi, 
and we got off rather late yesterday morning for the 
drive of thirty-nine miles to Murree where we are to 
remain two nights and a day. I hired a landau for this 
journey of some two hundred miles to Srinagar. The 
cost, including tolls, is about $70. 



Through Old Eyes 433 

Srinagar, Kashmir, 

April 27, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

We remained at Murree four days on account of the 
illness of little James Morwood. The hotel was good 
and the place a beautiful hill station, so I did not mind 
the delay. We were then in the Himalayas and have 
been ever since. We saw on the route peaks from 
sixteen thousand to twenty thousand feet in height. 
We stopped each day for lunch in the travelers' 
bungalows and rested, stopping again for the night in 
others. The Morwoods' servants traveled ahead to 
prepare our meals, and we always found them ready 
for us. We lived very well and very cheap too. The 
government charges a small sum for the use of these 
rest houses. Our route the whole way lay along the 
course of the river Jhelum, a most tempestuous river, 
a mountain torrent in fact. Most of the roads are cut 
into the sides of the hills above its banks. Land slides 
are very frequent and dangerous, and I was told of a 
man who was killed while walking near the carriage 
containing his wife and children. The bowlder which 
struck him carried him over the bank into the stream, 
and his body was swept far down before it was recovered. 
We found numerous workmen removing the debris of 
landslides. Cliffs overhang the road in a most menacing 
way and heavy rains bring down earth and stone. We 
had splendid weather till the last day and then we were 
beyond the danger zone. Colonel Morwood most 
kindly rode in my carriage a good deal of the way and 
made the trip most interesting by explaining the various 
places we passed. He had been over the ground before 
and knew it thoroughly. He tells me that the Mahara- 
jah of Kashmir is a strict Hindoo while 95% of his 

s8 



434 The Old World 

subjects are Mohammedan. The valley is eighty-four 
miles long and from twenty to twenty -five miles broad, 
with a. population of nearly one million. As the Hindoos 
worship the cow, the Rajah will permit no cattle to be 
killed or eaten in his dominions. Now the Koran does 
not permit the Moslems to eat pork, so this is a real 
hardship to these people, and great cruelty results in the 
treatment of old and worn-out cattle which the farmers 
cannot afford to feed during the snows of winter, and 
yet are not permitted to kill. 

As the Morwoods' villa was not ready, we came to 
this hotel for a few days. It is very good in every way. 
My room is bright and sunny and as we are six thousand 
feet above sea level the sunshine is very welcome. 
The Morwoods insist on my paying them a visit, which 
would be most agreeable to me only I am always afraid 
of being in the way and of giving trouble. Still their 
invitation is so cordial that I shall accept it. They 
brought only six servants with them and are hiring 
others here. I say only six because they have twenty 
in their home in Shahjehanpur. After my life in Cali- 
fornia, this seems quite amazing, but the Morwoods 
simply live as other society people do in India. They 
remonstrate with me for waiting on myself, but I tell 
them if I acquire luxurious habits in India nobody will 
want me in their homes. 

Colonel Morwood tells me that in past ages this whole 
valley was one vast lake. It has gradually been drained 
by the Jhelum wearing down its channel. The largest 
lake in India still remains here and some smaller ones. 

Srinagar is a beautiful town embowered now in 
blossoming fruit trees and framed about on every side 
by towering snow mountains. The river runs through 
the town with rapid current spanned by several bridges. 



Through Old Eyes 435 

It is crowded with house-boats which are anchored 
close in along the banks. There are lakes also near the 
town all connected by a series of canals. To live a 
while at least on a house-boat seems to be the desire of 
every tourist to Kashmir. One can wander thus from 
lake to river and up and down the canals through this 
most beautiful valley in the world. It is a unique 
experience I should not like to miss. I am going to rise 
early in the morning and walk up a high hill overlooking 
Srinagar. It is one thousand feet high and is crowned 
by a lonely temple. There are several temples here in 
Srinagar which have towers entirely covered with the 
flattened out tin cans of the Standard Oil Company. 
They look very imposing, gleaming in the sunshine, and 
I should never have suspected their humble origin had 
not Colonel Morwood told me. 

We were discussing the servant question yesterday, 
and I asked Mrs. Morwood what were the special duties 
of the "bearer. " She said: "I believe it consists prin- 
cipally in handing whiskey and soda-water at table. 
He is a Hindoo and can't touch the food prepared for 
us." I should prefer Mohammedan servants who can 
touch anything except pork. In this hotel our servants 
sleep in the corridor outside our doors and last night 
one named Liquor snored so that no one could sleep. 
I have never heard anything like it. I thought, at first, 
he was being killed. To-night he is to find other quarters 
for it seems he is an old offender. 

April 28, 1914. 

Just back from my glorious walk up the hill. I started 
ten minutes to seven and got back at ten fifteen. I 
walked up very slowly, often stopping to rest, for the 
path is steep. It is an isolated hill crowned by an 



436 The Old World 

extremely old Hindoo temple now protected as an 
historical monument. It is forbidden to the public to 
ascend to the platform immediately surrounding the 
temple, for the whole place has special sanctity. But 
in going up a Brahman priest had passed me, and I had 
saluted him politely. When I got to the foot of the 
steps where the warning notice is posted, he was up on 
this platform chanting hymns to the morning sun. By 
a friendly gesture, he invited me to come up also, which 
I did. From that lofty perch, the view extends all 
over the valley, bounded only by the superb walls of 
the Himalayas. The river with all its loops and bends 
lay unfolded before and beneath me. The lakes, canals, 
and floating gardens were spread out as on a map. These 
floating gardens are earth heaps piled on floating bam- 
boo rafts. On them are cultivated melons, cucimibers, 
and many vegetables. A nut called water chestnut 
grows wild in these lakes. The kernel is ground into 
flour or the nut is roasted and eaten. Every fruit, 
flower, and vegetable of the temperate zone grows in 
this rich and happy valley. The Morwoods did not 
want me to take this walk alone. They thought I 
should have gone up in the palanquin, but I knew I 
needed the climb and that it would do me much good. 
On my way down, I met the colonel and his wife taking 
a drive. The latter got out of her conveyance to 
embrace me and I saw she had felt very uneasy about 
me. 

MoRWOOD Villa, Kashmir, 
May 4, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

We have now been five days in this beautiful spot 
overlooking the loveliest views one can imagine, the 



Through Old Eyes 437 

Jhelum winding among almond groves in full bloom, 
with always the grandeur of the encircling mountains. 
Neither Mrs. Morwood nor the children have been well 
since we arrived, so I decided it was best to board with 
"Miss O'Connor" on her house-boat. She promises to 
take her guests on water trips a little later. I agreed to 
go to her at once, though the water tour is not to begin 
for two weeks. When I returned and told Mrs. Mor- 
wood of these arrangements, she opposed them 
vehemently and said I should not leave until the house- 
boat was ready to start. I had no idea she woiild take 
it seriously, and her opposition, though flattering, is 
painful to me. There is a good deal to see in Srinagar 
and I shall be close to the club library at Miss O'Con- 
nor's. The Morwoods go to Gulmarg in June and have 
asked me to pay them a visit there which I gladly 
accepted. Gulmarg is a hill station eight thousand 
feet high, much frequented by the British during the 
summer. Mrs. Morwood is now really ill, and since the 
superfluity of servants prevents my being useful, I 
shall leave to-morrow. 

May 5, 1914. 

We went on a very pleasant picnic yesterday to the 
Mogul gardens near the banks of Dal Lake. These 
were the gardens of Shah Jehangir, a contemporary of 
James I. of England. They are maintained in great 
beauty by the present Maharajah. We carried a 
hamper of dainty food and spread our cloth on the thick 
grass of an upper terrace under some immense chinar 
trees. These trees are wonderfully handsome and very 
nimierous in Kashmir. 

I see in the Bombay papers that Lord Strathcona 
has left one hundred thousand pounds sterling to Yale 



438 The Old World 

University. This seems to me very remarkable. There 
was no unfavorable comment in the paper about it. 
Lord Strathcona was once asked what he thought the 
most remarkable product of modern civilization, and 
replied: "The educated American." Now that was 
certainly a very odd reply. How does an educated 
American differ from other educated men of Christian 
countries? Still if this were his opinion, he was logical 
in endowing Yale. 

Houseboat Klondike on the Jhelum River, 

May II, 1914. 

I find myself most comfortable on this boat with Miss 
O'Connor. There were two other lady boarders when 
I arrived, one a young English lady, the other an 
American. That evening the American had a stiff 
quarrel with our hostess, who invited her to leave. 
She was much astonished at this as she thought she 
was entirely justified in criticizing Miss O'Connor's 
management, "giving her a good lesson," to use her 
own phrase. One indictment against her was taking 
me, an invalid, on the boat. Now, I was much fatigued 
the day I arrived, having walked for miles that morning 
but far from being an invalid. I am, however, on friend- 
ly terms with the lady and have even been to call on 
her in her new quarters. Miss O'Connor has not now 
enough boarders to justify her in giving the water 
excursions, which is a great disappointment to me. 
I may go later, but then the wondrous beauty of spring 
will be over. I go daily to see Mrs. Morwood who 
remains ill with malarial fever. She seems still worried 
about my leaving her house, but I beg her to put me 
out of her head altogether. I had a delightful excursion 
on Dal Lake this week with Colonel Morwood and two 



Through Old Eyes 439 

of the children. It was interesting to see the people 
making and planting the floating gardens. Next day 
we took a long drive around the lake. The whole road 
runs between poplar avenues which form miles of green 
walls on either side. Beyond these are blooming 
orchards of quinces, peaches, apples, and cherries. The 
almond blossoms have passed. There is the same 
riotous outburst of roses and wild flowers here as in 
California, caused by the fertility of the soil and an 
abundant rainfall. But the distinctive feature of the 
valley, more fascinating even than the flowers, is the 
long chain of the Himalayas now deeply covered with 
snow. Two picturesque hills stand near the town, one 
crowned with the temple (which I ascended) , the other 
with an old fortress. We are not permitted to ascend 
to this fortress. 

I went with the American lady in a rowboat to see 
the solemn entry of the Maharajah into this, his summer 
capital. Opposite the palace the river bank was 
crowded with schoolboys in yellow turbans carrying 
banners. I made out this inscription on one of them, 
"King is God in man!" The river was crowded with 
pleasure craft of all kinds. The Maharajah arrived in 
a huge ornamental barge with fifty rowers and a tug to 
help, for the rowers had to contend against the rapid 
current. 

We passed Mr. Biscoe's famous mission scout school 
on the river. On Wednesday I took tea with the 
American lady (who left this house-boat) . She met me 
in her skiff at the junction of the river and lake. The 
trip was most beautiful, lasting an hour and a half. I 
enjoyed it so much it seemed short. It was one of the 
few clear afternoons we have had, for this is a rainy 
climate. Miss G. seemed pleased to see me, for she lives 



440 The Old World 

quite alone on a boat at the end of Dal Lake, no other 
boats near her. I informed her as far as I was able as 
to American political and other news. She is in a 
beautiful spot, but it would be too lonely for me. 
Market boats stop alongside the house-boats on this 
river and everything seems very cheap. There are 
asparagus, green peas, new potatoes, and strawberries; 
eight cents a pound for the best mutton ; chickens from 
ten to fifteen cents each. Servants are cheap and feed 
themselves. 

May 20, 1914. 

Mrs. Morwood is now well and we are paying calls 
together. I have been invited to various teas and 
receptions. On the 3d of June, the Morwoods go to 
Gulmarg where I am to join them later. We have been 
on another picnic to one of the old Mogul gardens. We 
found all the fountains playing in honor of a visiting 
Maharajah who was to take afternoon tea there. I 
think I never saw a more beautiful garden. If we had 
these chinar trees in the United States, people would 
come from afar to see them, I think. They are very 
handsome and as umbrageous as the oaks of England. 
We spread our tea cloth on the thick soft grass under 
one of them and enjoyed a dainty meal while looking 
at entrancing views in the soft evening light. 

My fellow boarder came home from church Sunday 
and said the chaplain had quoted me from the pulpit. 
I was alarmed at first until I learned that no names were 
called. I had said, in speaking of the Panama tolls 
question, that when the Americans had a leader who 
inspired them with confidence they could always be 
persuaded to do the right thing. In fact, that my 
countrymen only wanted their duty pointed out to 



Through Old Eyes 441 

them by those in whom they trust to make willingly 
any pecuniary sacrifices involved, though we were 
reputed to be such worshipers of the Almighty dollar. 
He misquoted me to such a degree that he made me 
say that we were worshipers of the Almighty dollar. 
However, I did not hear him and cannot judge fairly of 
his remarks. 

I have heard that what surprises these natives more 
than anything else in Europeans is their outbursts of 
anger. The Asiatic is patient and self -restrained. 
Among them it is very bad form to show temper. 
Unfortunately, their patience and slave-like attitude 
encourage arrogance on the part of foreigners. But I 
believe it is a certain contemptuous demeanor which 
causes most discontent in India. It is, however, the 
want of truthfulness on the part of natives which makes 
the English despise them. In a law court it is very 
difficult to arrive at any degree of certainty from native 
testimony. They contradict themselves without com- 
punction or shame, merely saying that they have been 
influenced to give false testimony and now wish to 
retract it. I am now reading the Koran, very dry 
reading, but one cannot realize how bloodthirsty the 
Moslem religion is without reading it. Mohammed 
seems to gloat in the mental contemplation of the tor- 
ments in store for those that do not accept his teachings ; 
their skins are to be renewed from time to time that 
they may feel more keenly the tortures inflicted on 
them. There is scarcely a page that does not threaten 
unbelievers with hell fire. It is a very confused jumble, 
for he was several years in writing it, and often con- 
tradicts himself, so that one can mark the changes in his 
sentiments. Of course his paradise is as material as his 
hell and is to be won most surely by killing unbelievers. 



442 The Old World 

I have been over the mission hospital here. It is 
very up-to-date and exclusively for natives. Many 
successful operations are performed for cataract which 
astonish these people more than anything else. 

Srinagar, Houseboat Klondike, 

June 2, 1914. 

My dear Family: 

The Morwoods are leaving for Gulmarg this morning. 
I have promised to stay with Miss O'Connor until the 
tenth, when I shall have a house-boat belonging to the 
Maharajah placed at my disposal in which to make 
the various water excursions. There will be no rent to 
pay. Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Morwood, the children, 
and I took tea with the private secretary of the Mahara- 
jah. His wife does not speak English and left not only all 
the conversation to her husband, but let him wait on us 
at table. She did absolutely nothing but sit and look 
sad. Mr. Sharma was very pleasant. He speaks English 
admirably for a native. His table was loaded with 
fruit, fine strawberries, cherries, and mangoes, the 
latter brought up from the plains of India. We had 
also thick cream to eat with the berries, and delicious 
cake and confectionery, I enjoyed roaming among the 
flowers in his garden. His wife did not even seem to 
take any interest in these flowers, but left their care to 
her husband, a very capable man fortunately, for he is 
kept very busy at the Maharajah's. However, every 
family has many servants to do all the manual labor. 
Mr. Sharma sent his fine carriage for us. On Wednes- 
day I went with Mrs. Morwood to the Biscoe Boys' 
Scout School. She was so delighted with the exercises 
that she told Mr. Biscoe to send her his subscription 
book. I invited him to dine with me next night and 



Through Old Eyes 443 

enjoyed greatly his conversation. He brought me some 
of his reports, all of which are extremely interesting 
reading. The first game of football played by his scouts 
was quite unique. To the Hindoos the touch of leather 
is contaminating, so when the eventful day arrived for 
the first game, Mr. Biscoe had to post his teachers and 
helpers around with sticks to prevent the boys from 
escaping. When once on the field no words of command 
could induce them to kick the ball till the teachers 
were ordered to apply the sticks to their backs, a blow 
preceding each kick. One Brahman boy got knocked 
on the face, which seemed to him of such direful portent 
to his eternal salvation that he raised a howl, with 
sobs and tears. Mr. Biscoe had his face washed imme- 
diately, which consoled him partially. These Indian 
youths, formerly so superstitious, ignorant, and in- 
dolent have now been so transformed by the fine training 
of the Boys' Scout School that they perform actions 
which are not only manly but chivalrous and would do 
credit to any college in our own country. A few years 
ago an epidemic of cholera and plague was threatened 
in Srinagar. After a talk to the boys, Mr, Biscoe called 
for volunteers to help him clean the streets of the town. 
The priests raised the outcry that the boys would lose 
caste, the parents got excited, and the Maharajah, a 
bigoted Hindoo, put the police to stop such unheard- 
of excesses. Meanwhile Mr. Biscoe had provided 
himself with spades, shovels, and other tools. Next 
morning when he asked the boys to accompany him, 
all slunk away. Only one teacher remained with him. 
They were turned back from the filthy streets by the 
police, so they went to the lady missionaries' compound 
where the natives of the neighborhood had been throw- 
ing carcasses of dead animals and other rubbish as a 



444 The Old World 

mark of their disapprobation. At this place they 
began their labors, and there they were joined by two 
Englishmen, one a colonel in the army, which was quite 
inspiriting. Then a good many of the boys appeared. 
They had not had the moral courage to accompany 
him from the school, with a crowd of natives jeering, 
but they came in quietly and did manful work. These 
labors in the cause of sanitation produced much excite- 
ment among the population, and Mrs. Besant took it 
up, publishing in the Indian papers that Mr. Biscoe was 
forcing the Hindoos to break with caste. She judged 
the moment propitious for starting a rival school and 
in this way breaking up that of the missions. She 
succeeded in getting a building on the river opposite 
Mr. Biscoe's college. She won the favor of the Mahara- 
jah and the priests. Poor Mr. Biscoe saw his students 
deserting him and going over to the enemy. At last his 
native teachers informed him that they were gomg too. 
When this dreadful news came, he called them out in 
the courtyard and told them he stood there ready and 
determined to fight each one in turn, and asked them 
to come on. This form of argument was convincing, 
and they decided to stay with their strenuous master. 
But the struggle against such odds undermined his 
health. He went back to England to recuperate. 
Meanwhile Mrs. Besant, left in possession of the field, 
showed her incompetence. She lost the Maharajah's 
favor by predicting future events. She foretold that a 
son would be born to him. The child was bom but died 
immediately. The palace favorites pursued the native 
doctor through the rooms with knives, and he only saved 
his life by hasty flight and refuge with the English. 
The Maharajah had no son, and he believed that if Mrs. 
Besant could predict the birth of a boy, she could have 



Through Old Eyes 445 

kept him alive, so he told her to go. Mr. Biscoe returned 
encouraged to his labors and has had no serious troubles 
since. He now has, including fifty girls, over fourteen 
hundred students in his various schools. The boys 
from the college were in the habit of stripping and 
plunging from the college roof to the river Jhelum 
below, but lately the Maharajah sent word that he was 
tired of it and it must be stopped, so it had to be given 
up though the boys enjoyed it hugely. They have, 
every Tuesday, a rowing match on Dal Lake and have 
become expert in various sports. 

When I told Mr. Biscoe I wanted to go to Afghanistan, 
he related to me what a friend of his, an engineer, told 
him of his experiences in that country where he had 
employment for a time. A young Afghan of Cabul was 
accused of having been to the British Resident's house. 
Now, the Emir is horribly suspicious of spies, so the 
young man was called before him. He was asked about 
his supposed visit to the Residency, which he denied, 
and to make his denial stronger he said, "I don't even 
know where the British Resident lives." "What," 
said the Emir, "after twenty years in Cabul you do not 
know where the British Resident lives? Your eyes are 
of no use to you. Bring the red hot irons and put them 
out." The engineer, when introduced into the Emir's 
presence, saw this man writhing on the floor. Such are 
the summary methods of an autocrat. I am told he 
is very cunning, with a great deal of native sagacity. 
Colonel Morwood says that if Mrs. Jwala Prasada (the 
niece of Tagore) accompanies me into Afghanistan, the 
Emir will seize her for his harem, for she is quite pretty 
enough to draw this danger on herself. 



446 The Old World 



House-boat, 
June 8, 1914. 



My dear Family: 

The boat which the Maharajah's secretary offered to 
lend me is so large that it requires twelve rowers, besides 
a kitchen boat and a cook. To be alone with all these 
heathen, each trying to get all he can and do as little 
as possible in return, does not attract me. I shall have 
trouble too in getting to Leh in Ladakh (Thibet). This 
region is called Western Thibet, but now forms a part 
of Kashmir. Its valleys are- the loftiest inhabited por- 
tions of the globe. None of them is lower than nine 
thousand feet, and many lie from twelve thousand to 
fifteen thousand feet above sea level. There is little 
arable land and the people, who are Thibetans, practice 
polyandry. They have many monks also, for Buddhism 
is their religion. 

I go to Gulmarg in two days and regard it as a great 
privilege to be with the Morwoods, where I shall have 
a place in the family circle, and not feel like a homeless 
wanderer. Mrs. Morwood wants me to spend Christ- 
mas with them in Shahjehanpor. She says customs 
there are very quaint and Christmas a very happy 
festival. The natives all bring gifts and receive them. 
The twenty servants all have connections and relations ; 
each brings a gift, and, of course, each receives an ample 
equivalent. I met the clergyman and his wife to-day, 
and they were in much distress over the death of a dog. 
Strange to say, I sympathized with them. I am usually 
impatient over too much importance being given to 
pets, but this couple have no children and the little dog 
was a great comfort. Everyone here calls the clergy- 
man Padre. It was the same in the Dutch colonies ; I 
suppose because the Catholics were the first in the 



Through Old Eyes 447 

mission field (Portuguese and Spaniards) , so the name 
is now pretty universal in the Orient. Well, a few days 
ago a pariah dog went mad and bit several others, 
among them the Padre's pet. The mad dog was 
attacking the baby boy of a neighbor when the Padre's 
little dog sprang upon it and saved the baby. It was 
itself bitten, however, and had to be killed. Of course, 
the owners were doubly distressed in view of the service 
it had rendered. The Padre consulted every physician 
in reach, hoping to hear that he might safely keep his 
dog, but all agreed it must be killed. At the Sunday 
evening service I noticed the Padre's voice faltered over 
the petition for those in affliction, and I wondered if he 
thought of the poor little dog as well as of those whose 
homes were made desolate by the sinking of the Empress 
of Ireland. 

GuLMARG, Kashmir, 
June 15, 1914. 

I arrived here on Wednesday after a pleasant drive 
of twenty -four miles across the Vale of Kashmir through 
green walls of poplar trees which lined the whole of the 
route. I took two ponies at the foot of the mountain 
(one for my luggage) and enjoyed the ride up very 
much. I met on the way up the "dandy" and coolies 
sent to meet me by the Morwoods, but I preferred the 
pony. The "dandy" is not uncomfortable but it looks 
very much like a coffin. Each end is attached to a 
cross pole and it is carried by four coolies. 

This bungalow is built on a ridge above the golf links 
and we are nearly a mile from the church, the hotel, and 
the club house. When I reached the top of the pass, on 
the opposite side from here, and looked down at the 
undulating meadow, snowy white with wild flowers, with 



448 The Old World 

spurs from the wooded hills pushing forward into it here 
and there, and snow peaks rising above, I thought I 
had never looked on a fairer scene. Hundreds of sheep 
were grazing in this flowery pasture. 

There are lovely walks up and down these wooded 
hills. The fir trees are the biggest I have yet seen, 
some are huge. The tallest peak in sight is twenty- 
seven thousand feet high. It is beautifully shaped and 
heavily covered with snow. 

Gtjlmarg, 
June 21, 1914. 

To-morrow I go to Srinagar to attend the state ban- 
quet given every year by the Maharajah to the more 
distinguished guests in his domains. Of course, I owe 
my invitation to Colonel and Mrs. Morwood. Neither 
of them will go, she on account of the baby and he 
doesn't care for such things. 

I believe the English now repent not having annexed 
Kashmir when they had a good opportunity in the 
middle of last century. This country is fit for European 
settlement and would be a wonderful sanitarium for 
English troops. The Maharajah being a strict Hindoo 
and his subjects mostly Mohammedans, the latter^ have 
many grievances, but English Residents are a great 
check on tyranny. 

Yesterday morning, being alone at the breakfast 
table, I thoughtlessly offered my empty porridge plate 
to Liquor, the stately Hindoo bearer. He gravely 
shook his head, and I had to replace it on the table and 
wait for the proper servant who could touch it with- 
out contamination. The sweeper cannot carry out 
the waste water from my bathroom. It must wait for 
the bheesty. 



Through Old Eyes 449 

The woods surround our bungalow, and in them 
we hear the cuckoo calling and many other birds, but 
none compares with the mocking bird of Mississippi. 
We should really afford more protection to that delight- 
ful singer. The shy nightingale avoids human society 
while the mocking bird builds in the vine over our door 
and sings from the eaves. 

June 30, 1 914. 

Well, that state banquet was a grand affair, with all 
the gorgeousness of brilliant lights and uniforms and 
toilets. My partner for dinner was Colonel Frazer of 
the Royal Engineers. I was sorry such an old woman 
fell to his share, as he doubtless expected a young one. 
The guests were all presented to the Maharajah in the 
great hall before dinner. Being a high-caste Hindoo 
he could not eat with us, of course. The tables were 
beautifully decorated all in white, the dinner good, and 
champagne flowed freely. Servants in livery waved big 
white muslin fans to keep the air cool. After dinner 
we sat in the big glass-enclosed veranda and saw a dis- 
play of fireworks across the river. The palace is on the 
river bank. I spent that night on a house-boat, with 
friends of Mrs. Morwood. As the return is all uphill, 
I did not arrive in Gulmarg until 5 p. M. when I found 
a tea party in progress and a precious packet of home 
letters awaiting me. We go to so many teas I shall not 
attempt to chronicle them. Yesterday we were at the 
house of a lady who told me she belonged to the Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and that a 
few days before she had seen a native overloading cruelly 
a poor spent pony. She got down from her own horse 
and gave the man a severe whipping with her riding 
whip and had the unfortunate animal put into her own 
29 



450 The Old World 

paddock to recuperate. She said the man wept and 
begged for mercy, but she punished him thoroughly, for 
his clothing was so scanty it was no protection to him. 
She is a small and extremely refined-looking lady and, 
like most of the wives of these officers, of aristocratic 
family. I could not help reflecting that the man had 
not learned a lesson of humanity and that his future 
treatment of ponies was not apt to be modified by this 
beating. This is an aristocratic hill station, and I am 
constantly told of the high connections of the people I 
meet. One very pleasant neighbor has an English 
duke for her stepfather. I am conscious that Ameri- 
cans are only valued by foreigners in proportion to the 
wealth they are supposed to possess, for wealth is our 
title to nobility in the eyes of Eiu^ope. 

On little William's birthday, we took the children up 
to an elevation of ii,ooo ft. so that he might make a 
snow man in June, but the rain came down in torrents, 
and we had to take shelter under a low-spreading fir 
tree where I had to unpack my poor little store of fairy 
tales to keep the children contented. The Colonel 
sang funny Irish songs in which they joined. 

I had a letter from the British Consul at Bushire 
advising me against attempting to visit Persia and refer- 
ring me to an American traveler who had just made the 
trip. For fear I should miss his warnings, the Consul 
wrote to him to communicate with me, which he did. 
His letter is most discouraging. As I have been forced 
to give up the trip to Thibet and Afghanistan, I still 
cling to the idea of Persia. 

July 7, 1914. 

The American just returned from Persia dined here 
last night. His account of that country is gloomy in the 



Through Old Eyes 451 

extreme. He found the greatest difficulty in getting 
proper food, and carriage hire was enormously dear. 
He had to hire fifteen armed men to protect him as the 
country is in a state of anarchy, with bandits holding 
places where no traveler dares to go. The roads are so 
bad that it is absurd to call them by that name, mule- 
teers and drivers so addicted to opium smoking that he 
had to rise at the most unearthly hours to get his cara- 
van started. A friend gave him a new cowhide whip and 
told him the only way to move these individuals was to 
lay it on their backs and legs. He sorrowfully acknowl- 
edged that his friend had spoken only the bare truth, 
so he applied the whip vigorously, reinforcing this argu- 
ment with kicks from his heavy boots. Strange to say, 
the natives refused to take this treatment in the right 
spirit and threw stones at him. I have therefore decided 
to give up my longed-for trip to Persia, more especially 
so since he tells me that in the absence of all effective 
government, the historical monuments remaining from 
the great past of Persia have been so injured and de- 
stroyed that there is now nothing to repay the traveler 
for time and money spent. 

The lady who horsewhipped the cooHe called yester- 
day and I asked for news of the ill-treated pony. She 
said the police had carried it off and she had been sum- 
moned to appear before the magistrate to give evidence. 
She was much annoyed at this and also with her unruly 
servants, two of whom she had been compelled to dis- 
charge. Colonel and Mrs. Morwood get on beautifully 
with their servants who all seem attached to them and 
the children. While we were out walking a few days ago 
we met an English lady who stopped us to tell her 
troubles to Colonel Morwood. She owns an agency 
in Srinagar, and the police recently made a descent 



452 The Old World 

upon it and confiscated eighty cans of condensed soup, 
claiming that it contained beef extract. In addition 
they made her pay a fine of lOO rupees. She said she 
would appeal the case, but the Colonel told her it 
would be useless, even though she did not know the 
soup contained beef extract, for it is the law of the land 
that no preparation containing beef may be sold in 
Kashmir. Not even the hospitals can use beef extract. 
Mutton and fowls are very good and cheap here, so 
that I do not miss beef and never think of it. The law 
against killing cattle occasions much loss to farmers and 
cruelty to old animals, yet 5% of Hindoos are able to 
enforce it on a large community of Mohammedans. 

July 14, 1914. 

Now that I am not sightseeing I cannot help feeling 
homesick. My only reason for leaving home is to see 
and learn all I can of strange lands and write it for my 
grandchildren. Here I am, like Hannibal at Capua, 
living in luxury and treated with the most affectionate 
kindness by this family and receiving much hospitality 
from their friends. 

The Morwood children are learning a little fairy play 
written for them by their mother, who has a decided 
literary gift. They are to give a party soon and act it 
for their friends. Yesterday at the club I met a young 
English lady who told me an interesting incident of her 
childhood. In 1897 when she and her brother were 
very small, they were living at a fort, on the Afghan 
frontier, of which her father was commander. The 
tribesmen rose suddenly and attacked the fort fiercely. 
The balls were falling in every direction and no one 
knew where the two children were. The Irish nurse 
ran out to look for them and, regardless of the bullets, 



Through Old Eyes 453 

brought them in safely, then seeing the commander out- 
side giving orders to his men with his bare head exposed 
alike to the burning sun and the bullets, the brave 
woman seized his sun-helmet, and running out, put it on 
his head. The mother took exactly this time to bring 
another child into the world, so the nurse had to wait on 
her as well as tend the wounded men after the engage- 
ment was over. Later when she went to London, she 
was decorated with the Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria 
in Windsor Castle. She was immensely flattered by 
this honor, but when the Queen had her called back for 
a private interview she was terrified lest it be taken 
from her. The Queen, however, only wished to hear 
the story from her own lips. It is sad to know that 
the general who braved so many dangers died of pto- 
maine poisoning in a Brussels hotel two years ago. 

July 21, 1914. 

I am giving a tea at the club this afternoon, and the 
rain is pouring in such torrents I doubt if a soul comes. 
Still I must dress and go down in case some kind-hearted 
person braves the elements. 

At the club the other day I met quite accidentally the 
lady with whom I occupied a pew in the church at 
Cawnpore and who showed me the gruesome picture 
after service. She is an Italian married to an English 
major. I never recognize anyone, but she knew me. I 
am always being embarrassed by this fatal weakness. 
I am afraid I shall not recognize Donna Lita if she comes 
this afternoon to my tea. 

We are all very much interested in Irish politics here. 
Indeed, I accuse Colonel Morwood of being disappointed 
that there was no fighting on Orange day as he had 
predicted. He thinks if Ulster is excluded from the 



454 The Old World 

Irish Home Rule Bill without time limit, it will put the 
Irish Pariiament on its good behavior and make it more 
reasonable. 

July 27, 1914. 

Donna Lita has been to call and told us the following 
incident of her girlhood. 

When I was a young girl I was returning from an English 
school to Italy. The ship stopped at Malta and we were 
asked to a masked ball given that night by the governor of 
the island. I knew no one but the French Consul who told 
me what his domino would be and said I could talk to him 
whenever I felt inclined. During the evening I met the 
Consul, as I thought, and began a conversation with him, 
which we both enjoyed very much, but when the time came 
to unmask it proved not to be the Consul at all, but a young 
American naval officer named Green, a very handsome 
and agreeable man. That same evening he proposed to me. 
It was my first love affair and I was so delighted, for it was 
most amusing. I asked, "What kind of position can you 
give me if I accept your offer ? ' ' He answered that he was 
a doctor on an American ship of war. I was dreadfully 
disappointed, for you must know a doctor has no social 
position in Italy, and I knew my mother would never per- 
mit me to marry one. I asked him where he came from and 
he said "Birmingham, A-L-A." The Americans have 
such funny ways of abbreviating their words. Now wasn't 
that funny, Birmingham, A-L-A? But he was nice, oh 
so nice, only I could not marry a doctor, of course, etc. " 

This long recital gave pleasure neither to Mrs. Morwood 
nor to me, Donna Lita must have known that Colonel 
Morwood is an army surgeon with military rank, and she 
certainly knew me to be an American. 

It rains incessantly now and our only amusement is 



Through Old Eyes 455 

bargaining with the peddlers. I have bought presents 
for all of you. I have spent a good deal and am wonder- 
ing if you will care for the things. 

August 4, 1914. 

We are wild with excitement over the war news. I 
had really believed there was too much good sense 
in the world to permit such a thing, but yesterday we 
heard of the invasion of Luxemburg. This looks so 
serious that we are aghast. Colonel Morwood almost 
welcomes this news as a relief from the tragic situation 
in Ireland. It must be that the nations have grown 
weary of the endless rivalry of armaments and prefer to 
end it once for all. Their nerves must have given way 
under the strain, but a new crop of hatreds can lead 
to no better situation. The United States now stands 
preeminent as the one power working for a peaceful 
understanding between nations, and I think we owe 
this to Mr. Wilson's leadership. He may yet be called 
in to arbitrate between the contending parties when 
they shall have become exhausted. How excited my 
German friends must be. Frieda's husband is an 
officer of artillery and her father is also an officer in the 
reserve. 



August 7, 1914. 

We are so impatient over the slowness with which 
news comes up to this corner of the world. We get In- 
dian papers which are three days old, but telegrams are 
received at the Residency every day. Of course, Mexi- 
can news is crowded out now. All thoughts turn to 
Europe. The officers here have all been recalled to 



456 The Old World 

their commands or ordered to hold themselves in readi- 
ness, their families as yet remaining. 

Mrs. Morwood does not think the native princes 
make voluntary contributions to the EngHsh navy. 
You know they recently gave a Dreadnought. She 
thinks the Residents and Commissioners influence them 
to make these contributions, that it is never entirely 
voluntary except when one wishes to win special favor. 
As these princes enjoy the protection of the British 
Raj, it would seem right and proper to contribute 
something toward the support of the navy. I am 
convinced that the peasants of India, who are vastly 
benefited by British rule, appreciate that fact. It is so 
much better than anything they ever knew before, and 
they form the backbone of the population. Cholera 
is now raging in Srinagar and the Morwoods think I had 
better abandon my water trip for the present. 

I do not agree with Nellie about the Colombia ques- 
tion. I think Mr. Wilson entirely right in his general 
policy toward weaker nations. Of course, this is a new 
departure in diplomacy, but it means progress and not 
weakness. If twenty-five millions will salve the 
wounded pride of Colombia and make her cease to 
teach her school children that the United States is 
their bitterest enemy, it will be a wise investment. 
To them we are a big bully who dismembered their 
country and rode roughshod over its constitution, and 
in the case of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, I am proud 
that Mr. Wilson should uphold it in the sense in which 
its framers meant it, instead of accepting the inter- 
pretation of a special pleader, an expert in legal techni- 
calities. 



Through Old Eyes 457 

August II, 1914. 

We are so out of the world here that our latest news- 
papers are seven days old. We hear the wildest rumors 
of great naval battles but nothing definite. Italy 
reminds me of a woman who has just lost an unloved 
spouse, but who wishes to wait a decent interval before 
taking another. When I was in Italy I marked the 
strong current of public opinion in favor of acquiring 
Triest which is, of course, one of the dearest possessions 
of Austria. 

I feel the deepest sympathy for the German nation 
going thus headlong to its ruin, whatever its initial suc- 
cesses may be. Its only chance is overwhelming vic- 
tories at the start. If the war is prolonged, she will be 
starved into submission. We hear that Belgium is resist- 
ing the passage of the Germans through her territory. 
This means serious delay, for the Germans may have to 
attack fortified places entailing heavy losses. Ever since 
1908 when the Kaiser had that interview with an Ameri- 
can correspondent (you recall he claimed that the Boers 
were conquered by a plan of campaign prepared by his 
general staff at his order), I have looked upon him as 
mentally unsound, and yet this man holds the destinies 
of a great nation in his hands. Poor France will be 
overrun in spite of the desperate valor of her troops. 
Delay now means everything to the Allies. When war 
was first declared, it saddened me so that I would wake 
in the night with a heavy sense of some undefined 
calamity. I think of the sorrow of those good German 
mothers whom I knew, of the great men of that nation 
who, I feel sure, were not consulted in this supreme 
crisis. A high German official told me with bitterness 
that the Kaiser gave promotion only to pious men, 
to assiduous churchgoers, men who had faith in his 



458 The Old World 

divine right. Can the Kaiser obtain by this means 
either men of talent or truly religious men? I do not 
believe, as a rule, that military men make the best 
statesmen, yet Germany seems to be ruled by them 
alone. Napoleon himself failed for want of far-seeing 
statesmanship, not for lack of military successes. 
Germany has had possession of Schleswig for over fifty 
years, yet a newly enacted law forbids Schleswig 
families from employing Danish servants, so that old 
and tried domestics, faithful nurses, have to be turned 
out of doors and Germans installed in their places to 
serve also as spies in the household. No lecture can be 
given in Danish, so that a famous explorer had to cancel 
his engagement because he was to speak in that lan- 
guage. Is any culture worth having that has to be 
dragooned into a people? Yet such are the methods 
inspired by a military government. 

Colonel Morwood left Sunday to take up his duties 
in the hot plains of India. I grieve when I hear that 
my boys are reading Mark Twain's books for boys, for 
in them everything else is sacrificed to fun. To me 
there is no fun in lying and stealing. What a per- 
version of genius to corrupt the characters of the 
boys of one's country! The hero steals groceries 
to furnish a boat for a piratical expedition, tells 
lies with the utmost coolness and endless fertility. 
Even Mark Twain's wit cannot make such things 
acceptable to my taste. Boys who become real 
heroes have not had their minds nourished on 
such books. English boys have no such reading 
put into their hands. I believe the English hold 
character in higher respect than any other nation. 
Perhaps I have said all this before and fear I am 
boring you by repetition, but I think it is a most im- 



Through Old Eyes 459 

portant matter to watch over the books put into the 
hands of our boys. 

August 18, 1914. 

I do not anticipate a long war. Suffering at home 
will force the Kaiser to give way in time to save some- 
thing from the general wreck. With nearly all Europe 
against him and the navy of Japan also, it is a hope- 
less struggle. This is a rare chance for Yuan Shi Kai 
to regain the territory ceded to Germany. It ma^^ 
restore his lost popularity. He was governor of Shan- 
tung during the Boxer uprising, and the seizure of a 
part of that province must have been peculiarly painful 
to him. It is one of the richest in China. 

The enthusiasm for the English cause in South 
Africa and India should be a lesson to Germany. She 
has never condescended to win the hearts of her annexed 
populations. She counted on uprisings in India, Egypt, 
and Africa as well as in Ireland. Before the war began, 
Mr. Asquith was afraid to appeal to the country. Now 
he and Sir Edward Grey will go down in history as the 
great war ministers. There is another Germany apart 
from that of the military caste, and when the war is 
over I believe it will come forward and play a leading 
r61e. How I wish in the great final settlement all the 
oppressed peoples of the world could find a voice and 
protectors. Then would this war not have been in 
vain. Gladstone once said: "You cannot put your 
finger on the map of Europe and say, 'Here Austrian 
rule has been beneficent, ' " yet in Poland her rule is said 
to be milder than either the Russian or the Prussian. 
When the Kaiser was Crown Prince he said to G. 
W. Smalley, correspondent of the Tribune and later of 
the London Times: "Whenever the great events of 



460 The Old World 

my grandfather's reign are discussed, no one mentions 
his name. Men speak only of Bismarck and of Moltke. 
When I come to the throne, I shall be known as the 
author of all the great events and policies of my reign. ' ' 
Yesterday at the club Sir David Masson asked me why 
a German cruiser had been permitted to coal at San 
Francisco. As I was taken by surprise, I entirely for- 
got that according to the law of nations, vessels have a 
right to take enough coal to carry them to the nearest 
neutral port. I am sure I bore you with this war, but I 
can think of nothing else. 

August 25, 1914. 

The cholera is still raging in Srinagar, and people are 
flying from it. An American lady, quite a traveler, 
died of it last week on her house-boat, after a brief illness . 
I took tea with her before leaving Srinagar. She was 
showing me some beautiful Russian pictures when she 
said: "Do you know, it has been proved that Peter 
the Great's second wife, Catherine, was a daughter of 
Frederick the Great?" This was an astounding piece 
of information, and I had to think a moment before I 
could reply. I said, "She was older than Frederick." 
"All modern historians are against you," she replied, 
with perfect conviction. I feel the tragedy of her 
death so far from home. 

I met Sir Robert Pearson at the club yesterday and 
had a talk with him. He said when the Crown Prince 
was in India he told Lady Pearson that Germany needed 
a war to keep her army from rusting. What a motive 
for the most monstrous war in history. 

Yesterday the great fast of Ramadan ended and our 
Mohammedan servants, who kept it strictly, went to 



Through Old Eyes 461 

the mosque to pray for the success of British arms, they 
said. 

Sir David Masson told me yesterday of an incident in 
his life which I will repeat. Some years ago he was 
traveling on an unfinished railway in a rough box- car 
where he had a talk with the engine driver. The 
man was a drunkard and Sir David proposed to him 
that they should take a mutual vow to abstain from all 
liquor. They wrote down their pledges and exchanged 
them. They further agreed that if either ever broke his 
vow he should write and tell the other. It lasted four 
years, and then Sir David got a letter saying the man 
had not been able to hold out any longer. Sir David 
said that he too was very tired of total abstinence. I 
think it remarkable that a man of his position, so wedded 
to his whiskey and soda should have been willing to 
forego it in order to reform a poor working man. He 
does not look like a drinking man, but his breath smelled 
of it. 

September i, 19 14. 

Yesterday I gave a tea at the club, which Mrs. Mor- 
wood said was a success in spite of the number thirteen. 
Saturday the children's f^te came ofE in the woods. 
Within a circle of very big fir trees the ground was 
raised and covered with tiuf , thus making a kind of 
platform. Green boughs were stuck around to form the 
walls, and curtains hung before and behind. For once 
I was useful with my hands, for Mrs. Morwood taught 
me to make big red poppies of paper and fine wire. 
They were quite effective stuck in the boughs. The 
piano was carried out and the little play went off very 
well. Mrs. Morwood was the author, and this was the 
idea: the characters in Mother Goose begged the old 



462 The Old World 

lady to allow them to exchange their book life for real 
life just for one day that they might become real 
children. A big book stood on the edge of the stage 
partly open. The children were dressed in character 
and sang or repeated the rhymes, then there was danc- 
ing. Elizabeth Morwood dances with the lightness and 
grace of a professional danseuse. Donna Lita's little 
boy, Peter, was the piper's son who stole the pig. With 
a big toy pig under his arm, he looked very comical. 
His mother nearly went into convulsions of laughter 
over him and he had much applause. The audience, 
including nurses, were about ninety. Delicious refresh- 
ments in great abundance were served to all. This little 
piece is to be given next week at the Residency for the 
benefit of the war fund. At this fete I had to confess 
to three ladies that I did not recognize them, yet two of 
them had entertained me at an elegant luncheon the 
day before. This lamentable and mortifying weakness 
gives me more trouble than you can imagine. 

I hear that English people in house-boats on the 
Jhelum have been driven from the river by floating 
corpses of natives dead of cholera. 

September 8, 1914. 

At the club we have maps with flags indicating the 
positions of the contending forces, and it seems to me 
the Germans look dangerously far from their base. 
When one thinks what enormous forces England can 
raise in Canada, Australia, and India (these Gurkhas, 
Pathans, and Punjabees regard fighting as a banquet), 
it would almost seem that the retreat of the Allies, per- 
mitting the German right to penetrate into France, was 
a trap. I am convinced that the Kaiser has kept far 
from him men of independent judgment who might 



Through Old Eyes 463 

criticize his actions. He considers himself not only 
endowed with divine right to rule but with Heaven-sent 
talents for the task. My heart bleeds for the noble 
people who have been delivered into his hands. I do 
not believe he consulted the statesmen of Germany when 
he precipitated this war. Every petty Prussian noble 
considers himself superior to German men of science 
and genius. Great university professors, with world- 
wide fame, cannot be received with their wives at court, 
not good enough, not "Hoffaig" as they say. In fact, 
German rule is a remnant of feudalism, and in Austria 
things are still worse. 

Last Wednesday Mrs. Morwood and I went to a 
Gymkhana given by Hari Sing, heir to the Maharajah. 
He is an educated young man and speaks English well. 
There were many games, with prizes for the winners — a 
tug of war for ladies, married ladies against girls, both 
on foot and on ponies. This is very amusing. Some 
of the ladies fell from the ponies but these were small 
and the grass thick and soft so no one was hurt. There 
were refreshments also served. 

The children's f^te at the Residency was a great 
success. Elizabeth's dancing was greatly admired. 
Indeed, she is grace itself and her costume was beautiful. 
Little William is a born actor and has such a fine voice. 
They took in 550 rupees for the war fund. 

September 15, 1914. 

The splendid loyalty of India to the Empire seems 
to have caused great surprise. I hope the sending of 
Indian troops to Europe may aid to some degree in break- 
ing up their superstitions. In former times an Indian 
lost caste who crossed the ocean and with it all hope of 
paradise until it was restored by the priest at much 



464 The Old World 

expense. Now the soldiers are enthusiastic in demand- 
ing to be allowed to fight for the Empire. The English 
are constantly blamed for not giving educated Hindoos 
more government positions. I am told they are often 
deterred from doing this by the objections of the 
native princes. There are 700 of them and their caste 
prejudices are offended by this career open to talents. 
This is a serious problem, for it will not do to shock 
the feelings of the native rulers by giving important 
positions to men of inferior caste in those states. Still 
it is being done gradually as Indians are found fitted 
to fill such positions. 

Saturday I met Sir David Masson at a tea. He said 
he had just heard that the German Consul-General at 
Calcutta had been shot because he had been found 
tampering with the natives. I said: "How horrible. 
He should never have been shot but merely imprisoned." 
All of the ladies as well as Sir David exclaimed against 
me. I argued that in war time suspicion is so easily 
aroused that many innocent people lose their lives, and 
I did not believe in the general shooting of spies. " Put 
them in prison, ' ' I said. ' ' Danger never deterred a man 
from serving his country, and the death penalty en- 
nobles the office of a spy, besides I hate to see the 
English imitate the Germans in their cruelties. " 

Srinagar, 
October 6, 1914. 

I am comfortably settled here with Mrs. Baines who 
is helping me a great deal in getting ready for the river 
excursions which I shall take alone. Mrs. Morwood 
and the children have arrived on their way down to 
India and are boarding in this house with me. They 
are delighted with it. It is with a real pang that I part 



Through Old Eyes 465 

from them, but I realize that I must be up and about 
my tourist business. 

House-boat on the Jhelum, 

October 12, 1914. 

I remained in Mrs. Baines's charming house until the 
Morwoods left for home. Mrs. Morwood invited me to 
spend the winter with them, and I may go to Shahje- 
hanpur for Christmas. I do not know what I should 
have done but for Mrs. Baines's help in getting settled 
on this boat. She has lent me so many useful things 
and has given me quite a provision of homemade 
jam and candy. My boat is loaded with drinking 
water, so my men will not be tempted to drink the 
infected water of the river. I drink only boiled water 
and eat only cooked food. I have a supply of English 
walnuts which grow here and are sold for six cents a 
hundred. Fresh eggs are six cents a dozen. All native 
products are cheap, while imported things are very dear, 
owing to the long land carriage. 

Before Mrs. Morwood left, we went shopping, and 
each of us bought Kashmir rugs. I got four. They 
are made of white felt, the best coming from eastern 
Turkestan. The dealer assured me mine came from 
there, but these people are said to lie with great facility. 
The Kashmiris embroider them all over and they are 
sometimes beautiful. Heaven knows how I shall 
get these heavy things home. At present they lie 
under my mattress. 

I still set my heart on getting to Constantinople. I 
want to see the changes that have taken place since the 
fall of Abdul Hamid. When I was there in March, 1908, 
fear and suspicion enveloped society like a pall. 

My bearer and cook, Kadra, knows so little English it 



466 The Old World 

is difficult to communicate with him. I exhaust myself 
in pantomime, and he pretends to understand when he 
does not. My boat has only two rooms, with a tiny 
entry in front and a tiny bath room behind. Alas, 
there are many apt places for me to bump my head and 
I have neglected none of them. A lady in Gulmarg 
gave me some of the best homemade yeast I ever saw, 
and I am keeping the recipe for anybody who wants it. 
I have already made good brown bread. Kadra churns 
for me. The milk is first boiled and the cream scum 
put in a jar which he shakes till the fresh butter comes. 
Since traveling in the Orient, I am convinced that all 
children should be taught to like boiled milk ; the fresh 
is often very dangerous, especially in traveling and at 
railway stations. I found the missionaries' children 
healthier than ours at home. They do not permit them 
to eat raw food of any kind except fruit that can be 
peeled, even salad has boiling water poured over it. 
Kadra has just come in with two small teal ducks 
for which I pay four cents each. 

I got some books to read from the club library almost 
at random for I was in a great hurry. Rose's Life of 
Napoleon, Prince Hohenlohe's Memoirs, and the Letters 
of Lady Sarah Lennox. You know Lady Sarah became 
the mother of the famous Napier brothers, famous 
soldiers, and Sir William was the author of the Penin- 
sular War, considered the best war history ever written, 
I believe. 

In summer the banks of these lovely lakes and smaller 
streams are lined with house-boats and gay tents, but all 
is lonely and deserted now. I am constantly admiring 
the grand chinar trees of which there are so many on 
the banks. I move about constantly, but the names 
would mean nothing to you. I find beauty and charm 



Through Old Eyes 467 

everywhere, but I miss my mail and the newspapers 
horribly. 

How can you Americans be so low-spirited over the 
Allies' cause? There has never been the ghost of a 
chance for Germany. The longer she fights, the weaker 
she becomes. The longer England fights, the stronger 
she becomes. Troops and money are pouring in from 
every quarter of the globe to France and England, all 
animated with a fierce desire to put down the Kaiser 
and all he stands for. I constantly say to myself, "Oh, 
those poor Germans," because I do not for a moment 
believe they desired to leave their peaceful avocations 
to plunge into this execrable war which was forced 
on them. 

My kitchen boat has two entire families living in its 
one room. I am not afraid of these people. My doors 
only lock on the outside. 

October 20, 1914. 

I wish you could see the post-office at Sambal. It is 
merely an open shed, and I had to send into the town 
for the postmaster to receive my letters. I hope you 
got them. That afternoon I went in my skiff through 
a mile-long canal to the lovely Lake of Manasbal. It 
was my last gleam of fine weather during this nine 
days' excursion. I landed at a Moslem village. The 
Moslem religion seems to me to lend much dignity to the 
poor in their poverty. I was the object of polite curi- 
osity in this village, but no one asked for a penny. The 
women were beating out the rice, clad in primitive dirt 
and rags, yet they were all smiling and pleased at the 
interest I took in them. Perfectly confident that they 
have the true faith, what difference do poverty and 
privation make to them? My crew are all Moslems, 



468 The Old World 

and I leave everything to their protection. When I am 
off rowing, I leave money in my clothes and in a bag 
between the mattresses, but I have never missed any- 
thing, not even from my provision stores. The captain 
of my crew is a very big, powerful man with a fine 
intelligent face. Had he been able to speak English, I 
should not have been obliged to hire a bearer at all. 
Kadra knows and understands so little English, he is of 
very little use. "Yes, Mem Sahib," he says like a 
parrot to everything. 

From Sambal we went to Woolar Lake, the biggest 
sheet of water in Kashmir and said to be very danger- 
ous by reason of the sudden squalls that come from the 
mountains without warning, so my boats were moored 
at a safe distance. Though the weather was threaten- 
ing, I undertook a walk with Kadra across what is 
in high water a part of the lake bed. It was covered 
with Singgara nuts, a kind of water chestnut, and men 
were raking them up. I wanted to see the Island of 
Lanka, a picturesque feature of Woolar Lake. At 
this season of low water, it is not an island at all. The 
lake was not even in sight from it. The island stands in 
marshes in which I sank so low it took two men to pull 
me out. When I reached more stable ground, I looked 
back to see poor Kadra creeping on hands and knees 
over the mud, a comical object. I got to the island 
where there are some very holy graves of Moslem saints 
and the ruins of an old mosque. I went to the graves 
and was assured by the Moslems, who followed me, of 
their sanctity. I pointed up to ask if the occupants were 
in heaven. All the men nodded violently indicating 
that they were certainly there. As I looked convinced, 
they brought out a Mullah or priest as ragged and dirty 
as the rest, and I was told that the Sahibs were in the 



Through Old Eyes 469 

habit of giving rupees to this Mullah. I replied gravely 
that I only gave to those who served me, that the 
Mullah had done nothing for me. By a circuitous 
route, Kadra and I succeeded in reaching our boat where 
we arrived covered with mud, and I had to devote much 
time to a thorough cleansing. I wanted to stay longer 
near Woolar Lake, but the weather was so bad and the 
men suffered so much from the cold, that I reluctantly 
gave orders to return to Srinagar. I hired an extra 
rower and told the men I should pay for ten days if they 
got me back in nine. That made them pull with a will. 
As soon as we got to town, I rushed to the club to read 
the war news, but found that nothing of importance 
had happened in my absence except the fall of unhappy 
Antwerp. The Russian steam roller is relentlessly 
pushing forward. Were the Allies simply to act on 
the defensive and spare their men, the result would be 
the same as to the final defeat of Germany, for the 
latter is in the toils from which there is no escape. Her 
factories are silent, her commerce strangled. Perhaps 
already hunger and cold invade the abodes of the poor 
in that country. 

October 24, 19 14. 

I wish you could see the primitive water mills on the 
Jhelum River — ^low, thatched huts, the natives grouped 
around with their bags of Indian corn to be ground into 
what we call small hominy, much coarser than grits. 
I have tried in vain to procure corn-meal. They do not 
make it, only this hominy which I eat, though it is very 
roughly made, with a great deal of husk in it. Their 
bread is of wheat flour made into thin flat cakes, very 
good when toasted crisp. 

Some saucy little birds fly in and out of my cabin to 



470 The Old World 

eat my fruit and investigate my other stores. They 
are very indignant with me for being here and scold me 
freely. Kadra says they are bulbuls. They are very 
pretty, but I have not heard them sing. It is too late, 
perhaps. The bulbul is hardly less celebrated than the 
nightingale in Eastern tales. 

I hear the United States postal authorities will not 
allow me more than $ioo in one remittance. It is 
feared, I am told, that I might speculate if I received 
$1000 dollars. If I knew how to speculate and was 
sure of a good profit, I can't see what business it is of 
theirs, but no one can get home from India on $100 
without working his passage on the ship. However, I 
am not complaining. How could I when I think of the 
misery entailed by this war. 

I am now on my trip up the Jhelum, Islamabad 
my first stopping place. 

November 2, 19 14. 

Last Monday I made an excursion on horseback 
to the ruins of Martand. My horse was excellent, 
the day perfect. I rode through miles of poplar 
avenues clothed in exquisite autumn foliage of delicate 
yellow, the long strip of sky above looking like a deep 
blue river, while the mountains bore up proudly their 
mass of dazzling snow, which completed the beauty of 
the scene. I took lunch in the shadow of the old temple. 
I returned to my house-boat feeling so fresh after this 
twelve-mile excursion on horseback that I determined 
to make another to Achibal, six miles distant, but this 
time in a conveyance. Achibal is one of the many 
Mogul gardens scattered through Kashmir. It was 
planted by the beautiful queen of Shahjehangir and is 
well tended through the bounty of the Maharajah. 



Through Old Eyes . 471 

I took Kadra with me. He generally affects the appear- 
ance of a person with toothache and I thought he could 
not laugh, but this afternoon, in translating my remarks 
to the driver, he showed an unexpected capacity in that 
line. There were still flowers in the Achibal gardens, 
but the chinars in their gorgeous red livery made 
flowers superfluous. In all these Mogul gardens there 
is a profusion of fountains and running water. Next 
day the rain began again, and has not ceased day or 
night since. 

Srinagar. 

I received the London exchange at last and now have 
money enough to go home, but I am unwilling to forego 
the hope of a visit to Constantinople, the Balkans, and 
Germany. I long to find out from my German friends 
the real state of public sentiment toward the war and 
their divinely inspired Kaiser. 

I see in the paper that the German sailors taken 
prisoners on the Emden were amazed at the kindness 
with which they were treated. They have been fed on 
lies about English cruelty. Since my return to Srinagar, 
I have moved into a larger and better boat, the Bulbul, 
and now have a nice sitting-room with a fireplace where 
I can entertain my friends at tea. 

Lady Pearson sent me a curious old necklace a friend 
of hers in need of money wished to sell. It is so odd and 
pretty too, that I bought it, though curios and jewelry 
are little in my line. It was made in an Indian village 
where only one family engaged in this industry and was 
bought forty years ago. 

It is quite the custom in India for ladies returning to 
Europe to send their dresses, hats, etc. around for sale 
among their friends. Mrs. Morwood tells me such 



472 The Old World 

things are frequently offered to her and I have 
seen columns in the newspapers devoted to de- 
scriptions of such clothing. Sometimes a rich na- 
tive admirer of an official will buy at its original 
value the finery of his wife who is going back to 
England. 

Yesterday, returning from a tea at Mrs. Stewart's, I 
stopped to call on an old lady friend who has now retired 
into winter quarters on her comfortable house-boat 
where she lives the year round. I found her in a close 
room with a good fire burning in the chimney and a 
Kashmir fire basket at her feet under the hem of her 
garments. It is an iron cage holding an earthenware 
bowl filled with glowing coals which send out a pleasant 
and pervasive warmth. Old and young Kashmiris 
carry these fire baskets in winter hugged to their stom- 
achs under their clothing. Their figures seen in profile 
are truly remarkable. I found my old lady friend 
much depressed, a prey to the dread of death. I felt 
sincerely sorry for her and said what I could about its 
being a beneficent end to our existence, but she could not 
see it in this light and no doubt thought I was talking 
very much at my own ease. She was making herself so 
miserable by her repinings that I said, "At least while 
we live, let us devote our thoughts to living and not let 
the idea of death spoil life for us and for those around 
us. Remember that cowards die a thousand deaths 
while the brave man dies but once. " We are all, how- 
ever, alike in this. In old age, we cling still to the tat- 
ters of existence, which may be a part of our decrepi- 
tude, or is life so priceless a boon? What I shall most 
hate to give up when my time comes is the morning 
paper bringing news from the four quarters of the globe. 
Apropos of Kashmir fire baskets. Dr. Neve says they 




POPLAR AVENUES KASHMIR 



Through Old Eyes 473 

give the natives skin cancers of which he has many cases 
to treat. 

House-boat Bulbul, 

November 9, 191 4. 

I spend my time in quite a whirl of gayety going to 
entertainments almost daily. Mrs. Baines gave me a 
delicious luncheon. She is extremely generous and 
kind-hearted and keeps one of the best boarding houses 
I have ever seen. I have asked fourteen people to tea 
on Wednesday and will see what Kadra can do in the 
way of cake baking. I am proud of the bread I make, 
and send presents of it to my acquaintances who feel 
obliged to praise it, whether they like it or not. 

My home letters are thrilling. Here I am so far 
from the eventful scene and get such meager news, but 
I am afraid to start home, afraid to trust myself to a 
ship. I read of ships, taken by the Germans and the 
passengers sent far from their route with but a fraction 
of their luggage. My luggage may be very unimpor- 
tant, but still I value it highly. I have presents for all 
at home and I don't want to lose them. 

I have been reading in the Memoirs of Prince Hohen- 
lohe of a conversation he had with Bismarck as to the 
terms of peace made with Austria in 1866. Bismarck 
told what infinite trouble he had with the military 
party before he could carry through his policy. He 
was branded as a traitor by high officers and so hounded 
by them that he often thought of committing suicide. 
He says once he left the council table slamming the 
door behind him, went to his room, threw himself on his 
bed, and howled like a dog. 

Col. Hart says he hopes the Allies will burn the 
Kaiser's palaces. I do not. I do not like to see pro- 



474 The Old World 

perty and the products of labor destroyed. Generosity 
can turn foes into friends which harshness can never do. 
Let the Allies begin a new era of conciliation leaving as 
little bitterness as possible; to act otherwise is to sow 
dragons' teeth. I cannot help weeping over the ac- 
counts of Belgian refugees. The Prussian has been 
so nourished on the pride of his warlike achievements 
that he has become perfectly ruthless so that the least 
indignity to a German soldier must be expiated by the 
blood of the helpless and the destruction of their homes. 
By such deeds, they have made themselves the enemies 
of mankind. 

November i6, 1914. 

Last Monday I went with Col. and Mrs. Stewart to 
see the Maharajah distribute prizes to the students of 
his college. The place is very beautiful, surrounded 
by superb avenues of chinars and poplars and framed 
in by towering mountains whose spurs of lesser hills 
invade the valley. In spite of the Maharajah's hos- 
tility to Mr. Biscoe and his school, it was amusing and 
gratifying to see how he has imitated him, much to 
the advantage of the youth of Kashmir. He, too, now 
gives medals for heroism and athletic sports as well as 
for studies. I went on Wednesday to see Mr. Biscoe's 
distribution of prizes, which was much more interesting 
to me than the Maharajah's. vSixteen youths obtained 
medals for life saving. Some got medals for swimming 
across Dal Lake, two to three miles, also for other 
gymnastic sports, as well as for proficiency in their 
studies. Indian youths are inclined to be effeminate 
so that athletics are very important in their training. 
Each squad wore a different colored turban. When 



Through Old Eyes 475 

they squatted in long lines, they looked just like big 
chrysanthemums, a single blossom to each stalk. 

Col. Hart has just received the news of the death of 
his son, Captain Hart, who was killed in action on No- 
vember 2d. I had been with the Harts the day before. 
We had a long walk together and they had been very 
cordial. I was much moved by this news and wrote a 
letter of condolence immediately, asking that it should 
not be answered, but two days later Mrs. Hart wrote me 
a beautiful letter. I was glad to learn that she is a 
second wife and this young man not her son. She will 
be in a position to comfort her husband. 

I called there Saturday evening and Col. Hart showed 
me a cablegram from the King and Queen, which I think 
gratified him very much. His brother. Sir Reginald 
Hart, is quite a friend of the King's, so I presume 
he called his Majesty's attention to poor Capt. Hart's 
death. One can hardly expect the King and Queen to 
send cablegrams of sympathy to all the families be- 
reaved by this war. 

My tea was a success. My friends gave me quantities 
of chrysanthemums with which I decorated my rooms. 
I also laid down my Kashmir rugs. My sandwiches 
of home-made bread were very good. 

My friends send me much game and fruit and vege- 
tables. I cannot consume it all, but it is a pleasure to 
share it with others. One young lady sent me a bird 
she had shot herself, a chikor, a very large partridge, 
perfectly delicious. 

November 23, 1914. 

My letters were much delayed last week and came 
finally with the words " Opened by the censor " stamped 
upon them. When I began to read them, I could not 



476 The Old World 

but laugh at the task laid upon the poor censor. Unless 
like me, he is interested in all children, the sayings 
and doings of the dear grandchildren must have been 
a sore trial to him. A friend here tells me that some of 
her mother's letters from England are so erased by the 
censor as to be scarcely intelligible. Some wives of 
officers, too, have received, instead of the hoped-for 
letters from the front, a laconic statement from the 
censor: "Your husband has been too communicative." 
I do not object to the censor in the least except that he 
delays my mail several days. 

I give another tea to-day to which I have asked Mrs. 
Frazer. I wish you could have seen a tray of game 
and vegetables she sent me. I could hardly believe it 
was intended for one person. Col. Frazer called me in 
one afternoon as I was passing and asked me to take 
tea with them. They have an elegant bungalow in the 
midst of a fine garden and such a beautiful conser- 
vatory full of blooming plants. I went later with them 
to a memorial service for Lord Roberts. It was most 
impressive. We all stood while Chopin's Funeral 
March was being played. 

Many of the ladies here are devotedly attached to 
their pet dogs. Yesterday while walking by the river, 
I heard the sounds of a conflict and, following them up, 
arrived at the scene of a dog fight. Two of these pets 
were locked in furious embrace, biting each other most 
clamorously. While one distracted mistress was groan- 
ing aloud at a prudent distance, the other had entered 
actively into the fray armed with a tennis racket. By 
great agility of movement she was putting in telling 
blows on the adversary while carefully sparing her own 
darling. As I was acquainted with both ladies, I 
tried to speak to them, but neither had any thought 



Through Old Eyes 477 

for me. The dogs were at last separated, each having 
amply vindicated his honor, I trust and believe. 

November 29, 1914. 

I have a hard time carrying on an intelligible conver- 
sation with Kadra. Monday while I was preparing 
for my tea party, he came full of a, to him, very impor- 
tant matter. He had seen that Mrs. Frazer was sending 
me delicious game quite often and concluded that we 
were intimate friends and that he might turn this 
friendship to his own account, so he came to impart 
his ideas to me. After much expenditure of time and 
patience, I learned that Mrs. Frazer wanted a cook, 
but could not see how this concerned me. Finally I 
gathered that he had a friend, then in my kitchen, and 
he wished me on the spot to write a warm letter of 
recommendation for this friend to carry to one of the 
most justly aristocratic ladies of Srinagar. I could 
not make him understand that it would be dishonest in 
me to recommend a person of whom I knew nothing. 
He caught only the word "dishonest" and protested 
repeatedly that his friend shone by his honesty. Fi- 
nally I had simply to tell him to go, worn out with 
wrestling with the Oriental mind. 

I have had such quantities of game sent me as well 
as fruit and vegetables that I may be said to be living 
on charity. Not only that, but I am provided with 
enough game to make presents to my friends. Ducks, 
snipe, and chikors, great big beautiful partridges, 
really very delicious. 

The Harts got off yesterday. Mrs. Hart gave quite 
a sum of money and a trunk of clothing to be sent to the 
Belgians. I see in a telegram that Col. Hart's brother 
has been made Governor of the Island of Guernsey, 



478 The Old World 

which will keep him out of danger, for he was trying to 
get to the front. 

I asked Mrs. Baines to each of my tea-parties but she 
was engaged each time. She is a broad-minded, gen- 
erous woman and makes people thoroughly comfortable 
in her house. Still if I ever came back, I should take a 
boat and keep house. One is so independent and I like 
to entertain under my own roof. 

November 29, 1914. 

I always have to cut the bacon myself for Kadra and 
he receives it with averted head while I can see him 
shuddering. I am sure he would rather die than eat a 
piece of it. He dislikes cooking it so much that I 
have scarcely used any of the big piece I bought, and 
I am so fond of bacon. 

I paid farewell calls this afternoon and enjoyed 
my little visit at Col. Frazer's. Their home is lovely 
and always decorated with a profusion of the hand- 
somest flowers. The Colonel and I talked war while 
Mrs. Frazer superintended the baby's bath. He 
thinks the war will be a long one. I said cyclones do 
not last long, but he thinks the cyclonic stage is over 
and the combatants have settled to a dogged test of 
endurance. I told him the Allies could count on the 
Kaiser's mistakes, for he has surrounded himself with 
men from whom he will never get honest advice. Well, 
I have the highest respect for Col. Frazer's opinions. 
His wife is a very fine woman. She has five children 
in England. Only the baby born last summer is here. 
I enjoy the boat life. It combines plenty of society 
with freedom, but I shall be glad to reach a warmer 
climate. 

My dear Mrs. Stewart is working very hard collecting 



Through Old Eyes 479 

money and supplies for the refugees from Belgium. 
The native merchants give freely to the cause, she 
tells me. They are proud of their King Emperor. 
King George's visit to India was a wonderful stroke of 
policy. Hundreds of peasants tramped long, weary 
miles to see him pass, and then kissed the ground over 
which he had driven. 



Shahjehanpur, 
December 6, 1914. 

My dear Family : 

I arrived this morning and had one of the most charm- 
ing welcomes one can imagine. Little William came 
with a bound to put his arms around my neck while 
crying out to the others that I had come. All were at 
the door to meet me, although I had not written when I 
should arrive, and having done so at 6.15 a.m., I was 
hoping that no one would be disturbed. This hope 
grew vain when Liquor, the Colonel's body servant, met 
me at the train. I fear I mortified my good friend 
Liquor, for, of course, I did not recognize him and 
kept telling him that I did not need his services and 
that he must go away; then he mentioned Col. Mor- 
wood's name and I saw my mistake. 

I asked my friends not to call on me on my last day 
in Srinagar but Miss Murray, a fine Scotch girl, did 
come and what a blessing she proved, for she went 
straight to work to help with my packing. She was 
eager to lend me various luxurious conveniences for 
traveling which I had difficulty in declining. While I 
loved her for her kindness and generosity, my repug- 
nance to borrowing was invincible, nor do I take kindly 
to luxuries of any kind. 



480 The Old World 

December 8, 19 14. 

Very early yesterday morning I started off with 
Col. Morwood on a long tour of inspection of dispen- 
saries and small hospitals. The village magistrates all 
know him well and he seems to have very cordial re- 
lations with them. One of these officials told us he 
had been taught by Italian priests the art of making 
macaroni. He brought out a bag of fine specimens of 
various sizes. I admired these priests who tried to 
improve the material condition of the people. Colonel 
Mon\^ood holds this official in high esteem. We went 
through his garden of fruits and vegetables and grati- 
fied him by our praise. At one of our stopping places, 
the Colonel was quite busy and left me seated under 
some big shade trees. Soon I heard heartrending 
lamentations and naturally wished to know what 
dreadful thing was happening. I found the assistant 
native doctor who could speak a little English and 
begged him to accompany me to the scene of the 
trouble. He was extremely reluctant to do so, saying 
I could do no good, that it was only a young woman 
leaving her family to go home with her husband. I 
concluded straightway that the poor creature did not 
love her husband and was being cruelly treated. Her 
weeping sounded most pathetic, now rising in high 
notes, now sinking into convulsive sobs. I found the 
young woman in a bullock cart closely screened by a 
heavy curtain, for she could not be seen of men. She 
was seated on her belongings enveloped head and body 
in a red calico bedspread and abandoned apparently to 
the most hopeless grief. I began to talk to her while 
the native doctor translated at some little distance. 
"Do you not love your husband?" I asked. No re- 
sponse. I pulled the spread from her face and tried 



Through Old Eyes 481 

to divert her attention by admiring her rings, bracelets, 
etc., but I could get nothing from her. I asked the 
doctor where her husband was, and hearing that he 
was the driver, I went to the front of the cart to inter- 
view him. I told him he must never take another wife 
into his house. The native doctor here interposed to 
say that he had no intention of doing so, that it was not 
the custom of his caste to take more than one wife. 
I then enjoined him to be very good to her, which he 
readily promised. I repeated this promise to the 
woman and implored her to have courage and patience 
and to cease her exhaustive weeping. I told her to be a 
good wife and make the best of her lot. Still, she was 
inconsolable. I didn't know what next to do or say 
when the doctor said, "She will not stop crying until 
her father stops following the cart and goes home. It 
is the custom and she is obliged to cry. " I was aston- 
ished at this information. ''Where is her father?" 
I demanded. "There," answered the doctor. I 
turned and beheld a tall old patriarch leaning on a long 
staff. He looked exactly as though he had just tumbled 
out of the Old Testament with his staff and bare feet 
and legs. The rest of his body was enveloped in a long 
flowing white garment. He wore a big white turban 
and it was at once evident that his daughter's able 
performance was sweet music to his ears. I looked at 
him fixedly and said slowly, "Don't you think you 
could go home now and leave your daughter in peace? " 
The patriarch looked for a moment rather foolish and 
embarrassed. Then gathering up his dignity, he 
turned and departed. I then, after a few more remarks 
on their marital duties, bade the young couple go their 
way with the peace of Heaven resting on them. The 
husband seemed genuinely impressed by my ifervid 
31 



482 The Old World 

admonitions and made me many salaams, and I felt 
that I had at least restored peace to the neighborhood. 

Col. Morwood had sent a servant on ahead to the 
226. mile bungalow to prepare hot limch for us. I 
was so hungry it tasted fit for a king. 

At several places on our road there stood long lines 
of native women each holding a baby, most of them 
yelling. These women were in charge of native officials. 
The Colonel sprang out at each place and inspected 
each little arm to see if the vaccination had taken. The 
vaccination was done by the native doctors. 

The Colonel is Medical, Sanitary, and Jail Inspector. 
He is Governor of the prison as well as its medical 
officer. He looks so much better now than he did at 
Gulmarg that I tell him the way to keep a man in good 
health is to work him to death. 



December 9, 1914. 

Yesterday Mrs. Jwala Prasada (Tagore's niece) and 
her sister came to tea and remained quite late. The 
sister has written a book about Indian myths which 
has been accepted by the Macmillans. Mrs. Morwood 
told them of my trying to break up the immemorial 
customs of old India by silencing the young, married 
woman the day before. Mrs. Jwala Prasada then told 
me that the Hindoos had the right to take as many 
wives as they please and only those who have been 
much influenced by Western ideas adopt the one wife 
system. She said she informed her family when she 
married that she did not mean to weep and howl when 
she departed for her husband's home, and she did not 
do it, but years afterwards she was bitterly reproached 
by her aunt for her heartless conduct. She has invited 



Through Old Eyes 483 

me to visit her at her camp which I have accepted with 
pleasure. 

December i6, 1914. 

How noble were the words of Dr. Butler when he 
said that the United States owed the high respect 
she now enjoys in Europe to her repeal of the Canal 
Tolls Bill. Otherwise, her judgment on the moral 
aspects of this war would neither have been sought 
nor valued. 

Last Thursday Mrs. Jwala Prasada drove us in her 
carriage to a Hindoo wedding for which she had pro- 
cured invitations for us. It was a child wedding, 
very well-to-do people but not in the highest society. 
The families on both sides are jewelers. The rooms of 
the house were built around a paved courtyard. On 
this pavement were spread quantities of food, mounds of 
pastries, sweet and plain cakes, fruits, nuts, etc., big 
solid blocks of sugar, and in fact all kinds of eatables. 
We had armchairs provided for us on a long curtained 
veranda, for the ladies are in purdah. There we found 
the poor little bride. She should have been playing 
dolls. We admired the many presents she was receiving. 
This seemed all that was done that day but we were 
cordially invited to return the next night at midnight 
to the real ceremony. The priest fixes the hour ac- 
cording to rules of auspiciousness, but I did not think 
midnight auspicious for people of my age, so we declined. 
After we got home, the lady of the house sent two 
immense trays of cakes, pastries, etc., one for Mrs. 
Morwood and one for me. I wanted some of those 
delicious looking pastries toasted for tea. They were 
made with butter and fried in butter and looked very 
good, but Mrs. Morwood said that after being exposed 



484 The Old World 

to dust on that pavement, they were unfit for our 
consumption. 

Friday night we went to a large dinner given by the 
Prime Minister of Bhopal on the occasion of his daugh- 
ter's marriage. They are Mohammedans. The ladies 
of this family were so strictly secluded that we did not 
see them. I did not sit near the Prime Minister and 
had only the chance to speak a few words to him and 
inquire for her Highness, the Begum. His ancestral 
home is here and here the wedding took place. There 
were several gentlemen guests but only one other lady 
besides ourselves. 

The next day we were asked to tea at a very hand- 
some Indian home situated in a large parklike garden. 
The host, who will be a rajah when his father dies, 
speaks English fluently. I remonstrated with him for 
not eating and drinking with us. He replied that he 
now has some influence with his Hindoo compatriots 
and uses it to promote liberal ideas as to education and 
sanitation, but if he broke caste he would have no 
influence whatever. I owned myself convinced. He is 
a Brahmin, eats only twice daily, and never touches 
animal food. He was left a widower very young and 
has never married again, believing that death is not 
final and that souls are reincarnated and reunited. 

The Morwood house is in a very spacious garden now 
full of beautiful poinsettias. Yesterday she gave a 
large garden party in this lovely setting and to-night 
she gives a large dinner. Her servants are so capable 
that entertaining is no trouble to her. 

December 17, 19 14. 

The dinner went off delightfully last night. The Ra- 
jah was here. We spoke of Baroda and Udaipur. He 



Through Old Eyes 485 

has been entertained in both places. He told me that 
but for advising the Maharajah of Indore not to take an- 
other wife, he would be minister there. The first wife 
had no children. For want of a better title, I called the 
Rajah "Judge." He said that was one among his 
titles. It was a pleasure to talk to him because he 
speaks English so well. There were present also Mrs. 
Jwala Prasada and her sister, Mrs. Mookaji, and the 
latter's husband, also some members of the English 
society of the place. Mrs. Mookaji sang a song com- 
posed, both words and music, by her famous uncle, 
Tagore. It has a singularly exotic tone and rhythm 
and I liked it very much. Later she sang again and I 
asked, "Is that also by your uncle? " She replied, " It 
is 4000 years old." It was from one of the Vedas. Both 
the Rajah and the other native guests knew these words 
by heart. He had been talking to me about the great 
epic poems of India and I had felt mortified at my 
ignorance of them. When I heard these songs from 
the Vedas and saw the reverential attention with which 
they were listened to, I began to realize to what a 
remote period their civilization extended and with 
what affection and appreciation they recall that glorious 
past of their Brahmin race. Every influence combines 
to foster this pride of race, for the rest of the Hindoo 
world regards them as sacred beings. When the two 
sisters sign their names, they add the word "Devi." 
In becoming Christians, they are lowered, not elevated 
as are the poor outcasts who gain immensely by the 
change. The missionaries now tell me they have had 
to stop baptizing these pariahs wholesale, as they had 
too few teachers to go among them and instruct them. 
What a pity ! 



486 The Old World 

December ^23, 1914. 

I left Shahjehanpur very early Friday morning for 
my visit to the camp of Mrs. Jwala Prasada. In spite 
of my remonstrances, Mrs. Morwood made me take 
one of her servants. She also prepared a fine tiffin 
basket. With the same forethought, a tent, a mattress, 
and a quantity of covering were placed in the bullock 
cart with my luggage. Mrs. Morwood told me to ask 
for the Tesseldar, or chief magistrate, at Pawayan 
station. This I did and gave him many messages of 
thanks from her for favors he had done, but the poor 
man seemed worried and depressed and presently he 
handed me a note to read. On glancing over it I saw 
that certain gentlemen were to arrive at Pawayan 
at midday and had asked the Tesseldar to furnish them 
with pony-carts and supplies, also to borrow riding 
ponies for them. It was a pretty big and absolutely 
thankless task I believe, so I sent the poor man off as 
politely as I could to grapple with his difficulties. 

I reached the little station at 11 a.m. and as Mrs. 
Jwala Prasada's bullock carts had not arrived, "Ha- 
med " took me to the travelers' bungalow. This was very 
clean, cool, and airy, one single room with bath attached 
supported on arches over offices below. I was delighted 
with it. It reminded me of the prophet's little room on 
the wall of the Shunammite's garden. Here Hamed 
spread a substantial repast on a clean cloth, bringing 
up hot tea from below. Before I had finished, the two 
carts arrived, drawn by big bullocks. Soon thereafter 
we set out on a lovely ten-mile drive. We had to ford a 
shallow river and I was so absorbed in watching the 
wild life which always flocks to the watercourses in 
India that the sudden jolt down the bank nearly threw 
me out on my head, but fortunately Hamed sat in front 



Through Old Eyes 487 

of me and by clutching him I saved myself. The 
monkeys were so amusing, jumping in the water and 
swimming off with the same ease and agility they dis- 
play in the trees. Some of the birds were beautifully 
colored and there was quite a variety of them. I walked 
from the river to the camp. Mrs. Jwala Prasada came 
to meet me surrounded by several of her servants. I 
was taken to a very nice guest tent where hot water 
was brought for my bath. Dinner was served in 
another tent. Many of the dishes I liked, but others 
were seasoned with strange herbs or spices to which I 
am unaccustomed. My hostess dined with me, but she 
does not touch animal food, not even an egg, nor are 
eggs used in her kitchen. While visiting her, I never 
saw a fowl in her villages. Her people like herself are 
strict vegetarians. She had fish and chicken for me, 
besides vegetables, of course. A pudding made of 
custard apples was really excellent. We both went to 
bed early, she having a dreadful cold and I glad to rest 
after my long drive. . I slept delightfully, feeling quite 
secure among her retainers and servants. Breakfast 
was brought to me, one I had ordered, tea and toast 
with hot rice and boiled milk. The sun rose so free of 
mist that it seemed almost to come up out of the ocean, 
so level is this land. I watched the herd of wild cattle 
defile past on the way to the forest. She calls them 
wild because they are never milked or handled, but are 
kept for the rearing of working bullocks. The pair 
which pulled me the day before were superb creatures, 
ash colored with straight horns. Her agent said there 
were two hundred in this herd, mostly cows and calves. 
They are driven up every night as there are many 
leopards in the forest. When the sun shone warm, her 
birds were taken out of their cages for their baths ; one, 



488 The Old World 

a myna (the same I had seen in Srinagar turning over 
stones to find insects) , took great pleasure in his bath, 
and when he got out he flew to his mistress, caressing 
her most affectionately, touching her face and lips with 
his beak, a very pretty sight. 

Mrs. Jwala Prasada then had a table placed before 
her and got ready to receive her tenants, for she had 
only arrived in this village the day before. Soon the 
villagers came to do homage and to pay her the custom- 
ary tribute of one rupee from each man. This tribute 
has nothing to do with rent. It is called a gift, but by 
long prescription has become a part of the landlord's 
regular revenue. Each tenant had something to say 
and Mrs. Jwala Prasada avsked about his family and 
circumstances, how many cows and bullocks he had, 
etc. Then he knelt, touched each of her feet with his 
hand, and carrying it to his forehead placed his rupee on 
the table. There were fifty-four rupees. One of these 
men came to me and going through the same form 
presented me with a rupee. Mrs. Jwala Prasada said 
it would hurt his feelings if I did not take it, that it was 
customary to give something to the friend of the ze- 
mindar, or landlord, but nothing could induce me to 
take money from an Indian peasant. The man seemed 
bewildered by my refusal and gave it to Mrs. Jwala 
Prasada, who laid it on her pile. This ceremony over, 
we went to the home of the chief man of the Moham- 
medan village. He had a pile of rice of many bushels 
as a gift to his zemindar. The heap was decorated 
with flowers. His wife knelt and did homage, present- 
ing a rupee. Then she came to me and went through 
the same ceremony, but I put the money back in her 
hand. I had no right to it though I recognized that 
their zemindar had. That afternoon we went to see 




MRS. JWALA PRASADA 



Through Old Eyes 489 

the women in one of the quarters of the village. They 
knelt as usual, but only the wife of the head man gave a 
rupee. The women sat or squatted in a group devour- 
ing their zemindar with their eyes. How much she 
represents to their imagination ! — exalted rank, wealth 
and power, and being a Brahmin, she is also divine, 
an incarnation in part of the deity. One of the old 
women complained of the well. It was not "pucker. " 
It was "kucher. " So that was inquired into and a 
"pucker" well promised. In all these interviews, my 
hostess appeared at her best. She dresses in white 
muslin draperies, severely plain as becomes a Brahmin 
widow, but they are laundered daily and are snowy 
white. This muslin goes over her head but does not 
conceal her face. She is small and pretty and there was 
something fascinating about her as she listened to the 
complaints of her villagers and inquired into the 
circumstances of each family. Still I do not enjoy 
seeing the poor make gifts to the rich. I think it should 
be the other way round. These gifts are, however, a 
time-honored source of land revenue, and I am assured 
that the villagers are very prosperous. 

She had bought a magic lantern with slides for that 
evening's entertainment in the village, but for some 
reason it would not work so we had to get out the 
graphophone instead. That should have been for the 
next day so that I could see them enjoy it, but now they 
listened in the darkness, for the few lanterns made little 
impression in the night. All the records were in their 
language. Afterwards in the tent we had some very- 
fine music by Melba, Caruso, and others. 

Next day the bullock carts were brought up and we 
went across the fields to the forest of twenty-two 
hundred acres. One of the peasants whose duty it is 



490 The Old World 

to guard the crops on the edge of this forest told us that 
the night before two male leopards were fighting near 
his shack. We crossed the river again and the water 
came into our cart, but we kept dry. We were accom- 
panied by her agent and two men to shoot game as she 
wished to send some to Mrs. Morwood. We saw 
numbers of ducks flying over the water and the men 
shot some, but as they had no dog only three were 
secured. I felt much pity for the poor wounded crea- 
tures left to die. Near where we crossed the river 
there was an enormous "pepel" tree filled with birds. 
This tree is considered sacred because it furnishes so 
much shade, and so much fruit for birds. 

That afternoon we got in the cart again and started 
off to a big village four miles distant. Mrs. J. had 
completed her stay there before I joined her. It 
numbers 673 houses and the families own six thousand 
head of cattle. We saw many of these cattle in the 
fields. The houses are of mud, fiat roofed, surrounded 
by cattle sheds of the same construction, cool in summer 
and warm in winter, but ugly and dirty. They have 
no fuel but cow dung the year round, depending in 
winter on the sun for warmth, but the climate then is 
very fine. I went into one house and talked to the 
woman. She had five children and seven head of 
cattle. This village is surrounded by an immense 
grove of mango trees, the fruit of which is free to the 
villagers and it must be an immense boon to them. 
They may be considered quite prosperous from an 
Indian point of view. I had long talks with my hostess 
on various subjects. She is much opposed to the 
missionary propaganda among the outcasts, has a 
contempt for them for appealing to such an element, 
the lowest in the Hindoo world. I agreed with her that 



Through Old Eyes 491 

the Christianity of these poor people was simply a 
name, but I said that there was such power in that 
name that through it their children's children would 
be materially and socially elevated, for they would be 
taught by the missionaries gradually as funds could be 
provided for teachers, and that, regarded merely as a 
social movement, it must have momentous conse- 
quences for India. "What, " I asked, "has Hindooism 
done for these poor degraded creatures who have re- 
mained pariahs for many centuries, not even permitted 
to enter a Hindoo temple, their touch, their very 
presence defiling? They have been a dead weight of 
ignorance and degradation for India to carry, clogging 
all her efforts for the uplift of her people. None of the 
higher caste could associate with them or conceive the 
possibility of intermarriage. Now let the Christians 
see what they can do with them." She relished my 
talk no more than a Southern planter before the war 
did that of the AboHtionists. I did not make myself 
popular with her, but in a serious conversation I was 
bound to express my real convictions. 

We spoke of the case of the Tesseldar of Pawayan. 
She said she had posted notices in her forest to prevent 
shooting without her permission but if officers wrote her 
a polite request to be allowed to shoot there, she always 
consented and made every arrangement to insure suc- 
cessful sport. She said, "I have no children, I have 
no favors to ask of them. I am independent and stand 
in no awe of them. I protect my tenants when illegal 
exactions are made. There are many poor native offi- 
cials hoping for promotion who will sometimes exact 
labor from the peasants to please those higher up. 
They even intimidate the peasants into parting from 
their grain below its market value when their chief 



492 The Old World 

in the office tells them to buy grain as cheap as 
possible." 

I repeated this conversation to Mrs. Morwood who is 
very fair-minded, and she said it could well happen 
from time to time, but she believed that Indian officials 
were much more likely to make such exactions than the 
English. She had known many English employees who 
drew very small pay for white men, but all seemed to 
live strictly within their income. Colonel Morwood 
said it was the custom in the game season to call on the 
peasants for their labor, sometimes even for their carts 
and bullocks. Mrs. Morwood thinks this is done 
through their rajahs and zemindars. I can see no 
remedy except to educate the masses to know their 
rights. Undoubtedly the English Government pro- 
tects them to a great extent, but it is hard to protect 
sheep from dogs, and there are some in every race who 
prey upon the weak. The English, I believe, have as 
few such as any race on earth. 

I was most delighted with my visit and very grateful 
to Mrs. Jwala Prasada for inviting me. She is a very 
wealthy woman with large estates in various parts of 
the country. Although she has no children, her husband 
left her all his property to dispose of as she sees fit. 
Her income is about one hundred thousand rupees I am 
told. She is a very interesting personage, young and 
pretty, so very dainty in her appearance. She has a 
school for girls in Shahjehanpur and there was one in 
the larger village I saw but none in the smaller. She 
said this latter was only five years old and she intended 
. to provide it with a school. I asked if she would permit 
a missionary teacher. She replied "no" most emphati- 
cally. I told her I had found the missionary schools 
admirable and quoted the Prime Minister of Baroda. 



Through Old Eyes 493 

But one must not expect a Brahmin widow to be too 
advanced. It is wonderful that she should eat with 
me. I told her what the Rajah gave as a reason for not 
breaking caste. She replied, "My husband had as 
much influence as he, and he ate with his guests." I 
fancy the Raj ah- Judge still has the caste prejudice 
himself very strongly. 

I had one talk with my hostess which I fear has per- 
manently lowered me in her estimation. I was speaking 
of Kashmir and mentioned the cruelty shown by the 
farmers in getting rid of the cattle too old to repay for 
winter feeding. I said in countries where cattle are eaten 
their fate is a far happier one. In old age they are 
fattened in stalls in the winter, in summer they lie 
down in green pastures. Their death, unanticipated 
and made as painless as possible, is very different from 
that of the poor old cows of Kashmir which are de- 
voured by the vultures when they are too weak to 
struggle, or else thrown into the icy waters of the Jhe- 
lum with their legs shackled. She said: "With a like 
reasoning, you would have our grandmothers killed." 
I saw then that our souls could not really come in 
contact for she was still of the Orient and I of the West, 
but I admire her greatly and wish I could make a fitting 
return for all the pleasure she has given me 

I forgot to say earlier that Colonel Morwood has 
been ordered to Benares. They are busy packing. 
They eave on the thirtieth and I go on the same date 
to Delhi, 

Shahjehanpur, 
December 30, 1914. 

Last night just as I was going to bed, Mrs. Morwood 
came to say that her husband did not like the idea of 



494 The Old World 

my going to Delhi at this season, that it was too cold 
for me there and I might take pneumonia, that I must 
go to Benares with them for at least the first half of 
January. I was much touched at the affectionate 
interest shown in me and we are now off to Benares, 
the Holy City. I have come over to this dear, gentle 
Mrs. Jwala Prasada's to ask if I may use her writing 
desk as ours is packed. 

Christmas in Shahjehanpur has been very gay. I 
refused two fashionable, and as Mrs. Morwood informs 
me, typical Anglo-Indian festival dinners, followed by 
old-fashioned dances in their big rooms with all sorts 
of merrymaking. For days the Morwoods were 
bombarded with presents from their Indian friends. 
It is the custom in India to give lavishly. The Mor- 
woods thought that as it was so well known they were 
to leave here, gifts would be few. On the contrary it 
seems that their Indian friends wanted to show their 
appreciation all the more. The front veranda was kept 
positively covered with big trays of wicker filled with 
the choicest fruits and vegetables, cones of loaf sugar, 
nuts, beautifully iced fruit cakes ordered from the finest 
confectioner of Lucknow, all sorts of sweetmeats, dolls 
and mechanical toys for the children, a fish weighing 
fully twenty pounds, smaller fish alive in water, a 
turkey, all kinds of Indian dainties, and dozens of jars 
and boxes of imported bon-bons. The Morwoods could 
easily stock a shop with these things. The vegetables 
are very fine, immense cauliflowers like those in 
California. 

The day after Christmas, Mrs. Morwood gave a 
children's party to sixty little guests. There was a 
merry-go-round, a phonograph, and a big Christmas 
tree loaded with gifts. The table, covered with refresh- 



Through Old Eyes 495 

ments, had seats for all. After the dance they went 
home surfeited with presents and sweets. Yesterday 
afternoon another big children's party took place at a 
very handsome home, an elegant affair, but I thought 
not so charming as the Morwood garden party. All 
these children are not English, of course. There were 
Eurasians and some pure Indians. 

I went with Mrs. Morwood to an afternoon tea at 
the house of the Minister of Bhopal. We saw the ladies 
of the family on this occasion, as no men were invited. 
Mrs. Mookaji took us there in her sister's elegant 
carriage. The ladies of the Prime Minister's family 
spoke no English so I could only entertain myself by 
looking at them. Being Mohammedans, they wore 
tight trousers, short skirts and draperies, very gay 
colors, and were loaded with jewelry. I tried to talk 
to the Prime Minister but his English is wretched. He 
showed us two superb horses of which he is very proud. 
Both have taken several prizes. 

Benares, 

January 6, 191 5. 

My dear Family: 

Many friends of the Morwoods were at the station in 
Shahjehanpur to see us off. Mrs. Jwala Prasada was 
ill but sent beautiful garlands of roses. On our arrival 
in Benares, we were met by Indian friends of the Colonel 
who brought long garlands of marigolds. We looked 
like a festive procession driving through the streets in 
open carriages thus decorated up to this lovely and 
stately home in its green garden. It is one of the hand- 
somest private houses I have yet visited. It stands high 
above the ground with lofty pillars and a roof garden. 
The weather is most delightful, the nights cool enough 



496 The Old World 

for me to sleep under a good deal of cover. We are 
rather far from, the town and must drive everywhere. 

January 13, 1915. 

Mrs. Morwood said yesterday: "Few tourists in 
India have had your experience of moving with an 
official's family from one station to another and now 
you are to pay my visits of ceremony with me, for in 
India the new comer pays the first calls." Colonel 
Morwood is extremely busy. On one day since coming 
here, he performed six operations for cataract. In 
India, a man is retired at the early age of fifty-five. 
This must sometimes be a real misfortune, for a man of 
that age is usually in his prime and they can't take to 
needlework and knitting like women. L. is surprised 
at my saying I thought it a privilege to see this war 
through. I certainly had not realized its horrors, but if 
we are ever to have lasting peace, militarism must be 
crushed. 

In coming to this house, the Morwoods not only 
found a beautiful home but it was already furnished, 
so we avoided the turmoil and discomfort of getting 
ourselves settled. We simply walked in as into an 
enchanted palace. 

January 20, 191 5. 

I want to go to Paris on my way home, but I am 
dreadfully afraid of German bombs and mines. I am 
not as bold as Luther when he started to Worms, still 
my objection to dying in that way might not be insuper- 
able were it not for my longing to see you all once more, 
and also the very childish desire to deliver the little 
gifts I have bought. 



Through Old Eyes 497 

During a walk with Colonel Morwood, he pointed 
out the house occupied by Warren Hastings in 1784. 
In the garden stands a big sundial with an inscription 
saying it was erected by his order. It is in perfect 
preservation and as useful as a sundial is able to be, 

I decided not to go to Allahabad to see the thousand 
naked fakirs dance down into the Ganges in holy 
frenzy. My friend, the fakir, who sits near the Ganges 
here on a bed of nail points, went to Allahabad on this 
occasion, but I suppose has now returned to his chosen 
site. He is a powerful man with his broad face smeared 
with ashes and I think might be better employed. Yet 
I paid him for the good look I took of him. We went 
yesterday to call on a family of Brahmins, highly 
respectable and well-to-do. They sent their handsome 
carriage for us, but they retain the simple, primitive 
customs of their ancestors, and their household ex- 
penditure cannot be great. We found cows feeding at 
the front door, the house large but very plain. Three 
brothers live there, together with their families. The 
men and the children were all dressed like peasants. 
They provided chairs for us which were carried from 
one part of the house to the other. The ladies live in 
strict purdah, not even going into the garden. We had 
garlands hung about our necks before we were carried 
to see them. The youngest babies were brought out 
for our admiration. One, only six weeks old, had on a 
nose ring. I asked why a boy wore a nose ring. The 
answer was that the parents had already lost three boys, 
so to deceive the evil spirits, they were treating this 
one as a girl. As it was entirely naked, I thought 
even the most foolish evil spirit could hardly be 
deceived. The three wives all wore large nose rings. 
When you see such things, it is useless to look for in- 



498 The Old World 

telligence or culture. Mrs. Morwood and little Eliza- 
beth had brought some little presents which gave much 
pleasure. One of the brothers tried in return to give 
Elizabeth a handsome ring, but her mother would not 
let her accept it. These brothers have the rank of 
Pundits, but their superstitions seem very absurd to 
me. 

January 28, 191 5. 

Two days ago the wealthiest zemindar near here 
sent an elegant automobile to carry us to his country 
place. He met us at the door dressed in European style 
except for his embroidered bedroom slippers. The ladies 
of the family received us in a large reception room 
crowded with costly and tasteless articles. It was a 
pity to see such a waste of money. The zemindar was 
gratified by our compliments, and pleased that we 
could tell him the names and meanings of his copies of 
antique marbles. He has his own electric light plant 
and the rooms were provided with elegant electroliers. 
The ladies took their seats in a row and stared at us. 
There was no possibility of conversation. Mrs. Mor- 
wood, who is very tactful, asked the young married 
daughters to show us their work, which they did with 
pleasure, crochet work, and various home-made dolls 
which, like the ladies, wore nose rings, that mark of 
inferiority. They tried to give the dolls to Elizabeth, 
who was induced at length to accept two of the simplest. 
The zemindar showed us his gardens and greenhouse^ 
containing many fine plants. I said, "Your daughters 
must take great pleasure in these gardens," forgetting 
that they are confined to the women's apartments. 
This man has no sons, which is a great sorrow to him. 
If his daughters could go out with him and be his 



Through Old Eyes 499 

companions, he would not feel the need of a son. The 
girls looked about fifteen and sixteen. Though married, 
they have not yet been sent to the homes of their 
husbands. The zemindar has had water brought into 
his grounds and made an artificial lake enclosing an 
island garden. The flowers are in pots, no trees. Then 
there are pavilions lit by electricity. His secretary told 
me it had cost a lot of money and I can well believe it. 

My Christmas letters telling how the children went 
down the mountain to get the Christmas tree and how 
they decorated it themselves and the fun they had were 
most delightful. I leave Benares in two days. My stay 
here has been very agreeable and interesting. Mrs. 
Morwood and I have been doing some sightseeing 
together. We went to a native silk brocade factory 
where the weaving is done on hand looms. The worker 
sits on the edge of a pit, his feet in it, his loom partly 
over it. The brocade thus woven is most elegant. Mrs. 
M. ordered a dress pattern for a court dress to be made 
up in London after the war. This brocade costs from 
$10 a yard up. The weavers work twelve hours daily 
for $3^2 dollars a month. My heart ached for those 
long hours, four too much. The gold thread used to 
come from Germany, but now from France. The head 
man complained of the way Indian industry had been 
disorganized by the war owing to the suspension of 
trade with Germany. How rich Germany was growing 
before she precipitated this war. She was taking 
peaceful possession of the earth and everywhere 
welcomed, her ships in every port, and wherever Eng- 
land had control, they received the same treatment as 
her own, for England alone carried out in this respect 
the principles of free trade. How astounding then, this 
trail of death and desolation wherever her armies have 



500 The Old World 

penetrated! The other day at a tea given by Mrs. 
Morwood, I met an interesting Indian official who 
speaks EngHsh perfectly and has broken with caste. 
He agreed with me that the movement of the pariah 
class into the Christian church will have momentous 
consequences for this country, if it continues. An 
Englishman present said that neither he nor his friends 
would hire native Christians because they were not 
trustworthy. I said that might have been true hitherto 
for, on becoming Christians, they became outcasts 
from their own people so that public opinion could no 
longer exercise its salutary and restraining influence 
over them, but that this could no longer be the case 
under the conditions of the present movement. In this 
opinion the Indian gentleman concurred. He told me 
much about Mrs. Annie Besant and her doings. He 
said she tried to force the students of the college and 
university of Benares to subscribe to her views about a 
Hindoo youth she is having educated at Oxford. This 
youth she represents as a reincarnation both of Christ 
and Buddha. The parents of the students became so 
alarmed at this heretical teaching that she was forced 
to withdraw from active participation in the manage- 
ment of these institutions which she had done much to 
found. The Hindoo gentleman tells me that the native 
princes contributed very largely toward founding them. 
The zemindar whom we visited made also a contribu- 
tion of one hundred thousand dollars. The other even- 
ing at the club I met an Englishman who was opposed 
to home rule for Ireland and an Irish Catholic who was 
strongly in favor of it. I said I should love to hear each 
express his views and his reasons for holding them if 
they would both keep cool. They then argued with so 
much warmth and feeling that the rest of the company 



Through Old Eyes 501 

sat quite silent to listen. The Englishman declared 
that there were rights so sacred that they could never 
be submitted to the ballot or to arbitration. I said 
there was but one alternative, — war. This he frankly 
acknowledged. I pointed out that even in Ulster there 
were counties which were in favor of home rule; and 
however imperfect majority rule might be, it was 
preferable to civil war. The Englishman maintained 
that he preferred civil war, so the Irish Catholic and I 
joined forces against him. My hope is that this war 
will solve that question as it doubtless will solve many 
another in its great ordeal of fire. I enjoyed this talk, 
for I get tired of society conversation which consists 
so much in personalities. 

LUCKNOW, 

February lo, 191 5. 

My dear Family : 

I am writing at the station while I wait for the train 
which is to carry me to Delhi. I have had four delight- 
ful days with Flora Robinson at the Isabella Thoburn 
College. 

In spite of my entreaties, the Morwood family were 
up to see me off, the kindest, best, most generous of 
people. Mrs. Morwood spent the last days improving 
my wardrobe and adding touches to my hat. Little 
William clung to me, kissing me and begging me not to 
go. Well, it was a wrench to part after months of close 
and delightful intimacy, for with them I felt I had a 
home and a family even in India. 

I got to the College in time to share in a very agree- 
able entertainment which was given to say farewell to a 
departing teacher. There were refreshments and music. 
I found some interesting American magazines which I 



502 The Old World 

devoured eagerly. Sunday I heard Bishop Robinson, 
Flora's father, preach, a very attractive old gentleman. 
I went early to secure a front seat where I could hear. 
While I was waiting, an old man entered and coming up 
to me offered his hand. I rose and shook it warmly, 
thinking, "This old man is on the brink of the grave 
and I wish him a silent hon voyage. " I don't doubt he 
had the same thought for me. Flora is a delightful 
companion when she has any time to give to you, but 
she is very busy, for her duties are manifold. It is 
pathetic to me to see such beauty and sweetness spent 
in working over these Indian girls when she ought to 
have a home of her own and be bringing up her own 
children. She listened with apparent interest to my 
stories of my grandchildren. Yesterday there was a 
big dinner at the college. Two Bishop John Robinsons 
were present. Bishop Warne, and Flora's brother. Dr. 
Robinson, who is an accomplished surgeon. He worked 
several years with the Mayo brothers. Bishop Warne 
told me they could not secure enough teachers for the 
new converts to the Christian faith. How I wish they 
could be taught and elevated! The Hindoo faith, as 
we outsiders see it, is so filthy and degrading, and yet 
its adherents have so many fine qualities. Generally 
speaking, they are very trustworthy. I cannot forget 
what the missionary's wife in southern India said when 
speaking of the thief caste, "They are so honest," 
which her husband did not deny. Mr. Biscoe's method 
of teaching morals and religion was, I must con- 
fess, most congenial to me. Indeed, I admired him 
greatly. 

Bishop Warne hopes England will establish a pro- 
tectorate over Palestine and Arabia and give them the 
blessings of a settled government. There would, of 



Through Old Eyes 503 

course, be many obstacles to this, though I think not 
insuperable. 

Well, my comfort about the war is that the existing 
horrors will make people hate it more than all sermons 
and peace societies could ever hope to do. I am so 
harrowed when I read of the Belgian children and their 
sufferings ! I think instantly of ours and picture them 
homeless, starving, and freezing, flying before the 
German armies. And the women who can never be 
wives and mothers because the young men lie in bloody 
graves who should have married them! I sometimes 
wonder whether monogamy will not break down after 
this fearful slaughter. 

I hope the terms of peace will be merciful to Ger- 
many. They in their triumph were not merciful to 
France. They have been savagely cruel to Belgium, 
and should they defeat England they would, no doubt, 
exact the whole pound of flesh. Yet to imitate in- 
justice and cruelty is but to perpetuate hatreds and 
retard civilization. 

Marten's Hotel, Delhi, 

February i8, 1915. 

My dear Family: 

I am surprised to hear that so many Californians 
sympathize with Germany in this war. No one admired 
Germans more than I did, indeed I loved them, and 
still do, but I cannot consider their cause a just one. 
Nothing like the treatment of Belgium has been seen 
since the Turks overran eastern Europe, and this from 
a country which was to lead us to a higher culture! 
There is no free press in Germany. Their churches, 
their schools, their universities are state institutions, 
and those who control the government have been able 



504 The Old World 

to mould the people at will into the most docile instru- 
ments ever perhaps wielded by an autocrat. 

I called on Sir James Roberts soon after I arrived 
here. He received me with great kindness and returned 
the call the same day. He is surgeon to the Viceroy, 
Lord Hardinge. I took lunch with Lady Roberts to- 
day and Sunday they are to dine with me at this hotel. 
Lady Roberts has a beautiful little girl who behaved 
most admirably at luncheon. 

On Monday I leave for Gwalior. Sir James is to 
write and put me in charge of the British Resident 
there. I hope to see the Maharajah's family and 
Sindia who belongs to a celebrated line of Indian princes. 
I shall then go on to Jaipur under the same circum- 
stances. I asked Sir James Roberts if there had been 
the slightest pressure put upon these Indian potentates 
to make them send in war contributions. "Not the 
slightest," he answered emphatically, 

A few days ago I drove out to the Kutub Minar. 
There is now a wonderful road leading to it eleven miles 
long under trees the whole way. The new capital is to 
reach within three miles of the Kutub. The plain on 
which it is to be built has seen the rise and decay 
of more than one Delhi. On all sides are the ruins 
of tombs, mosques, and palaces. The great Tower of 
Victory is as perfect as ever in its beauty. The garden 
is now carefully tended and far more beautiful than 
when Sedley and I were there eighteen years ago. 

Gwalior, 
February 25, 1915. 

* The day before I left Delhi, Sir James and Lady 
Roberts dined with me. I had met some pleasant people 
in the hotel, a mother and daughter whom I asked to 



Through Old Eyes 505 

join the party. They made themselves agreeable to 
Lady Roberts while I talked politics to her husband. 
As he has access to all sources of information in this 
country, he is thoroughly acquainted with the sentiment 
of its native ruling classes. Apart from his varied infor- 
mation, he is a delightful man, one of the finest speci- 
mens of the men England sends out to her colonies, 
modest and unassuming, with an air of gentle deference 
in his manner to those with whom he is conversing 
which is very flattering. My little party, however, was 
not without its irritations. I had put the matter of 
wines and drinks entirely in the hands of the hotel 
manager, but they were so long in appearing that it 
became embarrassing. Then after dinner, as soon as I 
had begun an absorbing discussion of American politics, 
here came the waiter with my bill. I no sooner got rid 
of him and resumed my conversation than the manager 
appeared at the door. Hastily concluding that he was 
looking for me, for I was to leave at a very early hour 
next morning, I sprang up and took the long walk to 
my room for my purse. On paying the bill, I expressed 
my surprise at the way I was treated, when the manager 
assured me warmly that he was not looking for me at all 
but for a gentleman for whom he had a letter. He 
apologized also profusely for the presentation of the bill 
as the mistake of a stupid waiter. I returned to the 
drawing room, but I could not get into the vein again. 
On leaving, Sir James said he had written to his friends 
in Gwalior and Jaipur to "put me up." I protested 
saying that of course I had expected to go to an hotel, 
but he insisted on having his own way. I left very 
early on Monday, Washington's birthday. I had as a 
companion a very nice English girl who lives in Lisbon 
but was visiting friends here. Her brother is an official 



5o6 The Old World 

at Simla. She was in high spirits as she found India 
very dehghtful. I laughingly told her that I meant to 
get out of the train as quickly as possible so as to pre- 
vent the English Resident from seeing that I was 
traveling second class, but before I could put my foot 
on the platform a gentleman took my hand and assisted 
me to alight. It was the English Resident. He had 
his motor car waiting and as we whirled off he said, " I 
am not taking you to the Residency, but to the house 
of some friends. My new abode is unfinished and the 
old one is not suited for entertaining. " So I was driven 
to the home of the Director-General of Education, Mr. 
Bull. His wife met me with great amiability and when 
I said I should have gone to an hotel as I had expected 
to do, she answered, "I do not have many guests and 
am very glad to have you. You will be less lonely here 
than in the hotel. ' ' This was a most pleasant beginning. 
They were waiting lunch for us and when this was over, 
the Resident said he would return to take us to tea in 
the new Residency grounds, and later to dinner with 
him. 

We had a pleasant drive of three miles to the new 
Residency. Tea was laid in the garden which was full 
of lovely flowers. There were other guests; one, Sir 
John Marshall, is at the head of the arch^ological 
department for all India. His wife has gone to England 
to put their boy at school. No one here likes to keep a 
son after he is ten years old. They say he must be 
brought up in the English atmosphere at an English 
school. I agree with this view. Oriental influences on 
boys cannot be for good. We wandered through the 
gardens and the new building, finalty climbing up to the 
turret for the view. That evening we dined at the old 
Residency, which I prefer to the fine new one. It is 



Through Old Eyes 507 

homelike and comfortable. I am so deaf I cannot follow 
general conversation, and this is very trying to me as 
well as to others. 

A big elephant was ordered for me next morning, and 
busy as Mr. Bull was, he accompanied me on an excur- 
sion to the famous old hill fortress. I told Mr. Bull of 
my trip on an elephant up this same hill seventeen 
years ago with my son, how he wanted to talk about the 
historical associations of the place, but it was my first 
elephant ride and I could only think and talk of the 
many ways in which the huge creature could kill us if it 
chose. It ended in Sedley's losing all patience with me. 
Mr. Bull is a superb guide. This fortress was built 
when Henry VII was on the English throne, yet its 
apartments could be occupied to-day. That afternoon, 
we had a picnic tea with some friends of Mr. Jardine 
(the Resident) on the other side of the hill fortress, on a 
lower terrace, shaded from the sun. After this tea, we 
went on an elephant to see the great images carved on 
the perpendicular walls of rock. They are very ancient 
and so huge that the hand of one figure is six feet long. 

Sindia of Gwalior is very wealthy and has done much 
for the city. Long rows of buildings are beautifully 
carved with such lightness and delicacy that it looks 
like lace work. Sindia has progressive ideas and has 
built a hospital, the Victoria College, a club house, a 
fine theater, a general post-office, and many municipal 
buildings. 

Yesterday, we went to the weekly reception at the 
palace. Mrs. Bull first took me up the private stairway 
to the purdah apartments. We found only the first or 
principal wife in the drawing-room, a small fat lady 
dressed in a sari, very airy. She could speak English 
so we sat together and talked. Sindia took his second 



508 The Old World 

wife because this one had no children. He was engaged 
at one time to the Baroda princess, but his mother 
managed to break off the engagement, so it is said, as 
she regarded the princess as too emancipated from 
purdah restraints. I should not have dared to mention 
the Baroda family to Her Highness but one of her 
first questions was, "Do you know the Maharanee of 
Baroda?" So we talked of them. When I mentioned 
having met the brides of the two sons, she was eager to 
know how they were dressed, what colors they wore, 
"and the Maharanee, how was she dressed? " I racked 
my brain in vain to remember the toilet details. ' * Were 
they all very fair, or not?" She herself was fair for a 
Hindoo. I asked to see the baby, for the new wife has 
an infant, and I also asked to see the other ladies. While 
the servant was gone with inquiries, I examined the 
full-length portrait of Sindia on the wall, very dark with 
low brows, the hair forming a straight line across the 
forehead, so when a woman entered bearing an infant 
with these characteristic features I exclaimed that its 
likeness was very great to its father, the Maharajah. 
I felt very foolish when I was told it was not his child 
but that of a general. The baby was in fact a grand- 
child of the Prime Minister who held office at the time 
of the great mutiny, and who influenced the Sindia of 
that day to stand by the English. When the servant 
returned he reported that the little princess was asleep, 
the Maharanee mother not well and lying down, so 
without seeing any more ladies, we went to the public 
reception room to meet Sindia. He did not much 
resemble his portrait, wore European clothes, and had 
lost his upper front teeth which detracts much from his 
appearance and I suspect this was the reason the Baroda 
princess would not marry him. Sindia speaks English 



Through Old Eyes 509 

very well, of course. I congratulated him on the first 
child being a girl saying an heir who came too early 
often proved embarrassing. He said many people 
thought he was disappointed in the baby, but he was 
not. He added that his mother had told him that 
morning that the baby was now two months old and it 
was time to take her out in the air and show her to his 
friends, which he intended doing that very afternoon. 
He spoke of his mother's advice in the tone of one who 
had perfect confidence in the wisdom of age. This is 
the Oriental point of view and I could wish that facts 
bore it out. The old lady is conservative to the last 
degree. I was very sorry not to have seen her. 

Sindia sent a ship to Europe to bring back invalided 
soldiers. Mr. Bull went to Bombay to receive them and 
says those who were wounded and disabled were most 
cheerful, but those whose health had given way, 
preventing them frorri seeing any fighting, were very 
melancholy. The ship is to return for more. 

Jaipur Hotel, 
March i, 1915. 

Here I am all alone in this hotel, a guest of the 
Maharajah who is himself absent. The clerk of his 
council comes morning and afternoon in a carriage 
from the royal stables and takes me on interesting 
drives. A member of the state council called also by 
direction of His Highness and he accompanied me one 
day. They are both Brahmins and when we went to 
see the observatory, they got a third, a learned Pundit, 
to explain this remarkable building erected by Jai Sing, 
who founded the city. He lived in the time of Louis 
XIV and must have been a very remarkable man, for he 
himself invented many of the curious instruments used 



510 The Old World 

for astronomical observations. He dotted his obser- 
vatories all over central India. The one at Delhi is still 
used by the Pundits. My Pundit was evidently a very 
learned man, but all the king's horses and all the king's 
men could not make me understand these abstruse 
subjects. 

I leave to-night after four days of great interest here. 
I have become very friendly with the council clerk. 
He has told me so much about his family affairs which 
interest me very much. He has two brothers living 
elsewhere, but the way they cooperate in bringing up 
their children is most admirable. I had a glorious drive 
with him out to the old palace of Amber. It looked 
fresher and more beautiful than ever. Whatever desire 
I expressed, the friendly clerk declared himself ready to 
gratify. Seeing the camels go by I said, "I should like 
so much to ride on a swift dromedary. " "I can easily 
arrange that. His Highness has some fine ones." I 
answered, "How lovely, I want you to accompany me 
on one." Fatal remark! He has not mentioned the 
subject since. He is rather inclined to be fat and averse 
to exercise, and it may be that he might appear ridicu- 
lous to his people riding on a swift dromedary with an 
old woman from across the sea. In vain I tried to make 
him understand the charm of climbing these steep and 
tower-crowned hills around Jaipur. I have asked him 
to carry me to the foot of the steepest and then to 
climb it with me. He said he should certainly arrange 
it, but he persistently avoids the subject since then. 
However, he has treated me most handsomely and I am 
•very grateful to him. The name of Sir James Roberts 
is one to conjure with. My friend, the clerk, guided 
him through Jaipur, and years later when Sir James 
returned with Lord Hardinge he remembered and asked 



Through Old Eyes 511 

for him by name. Such thoughtful consideration 
completely won his heart. 

At the Amber palace, we passed before a temple and 
my guide, who is a Brahmin, stopped to speak to its 
guardians. Then he knelt and bowed very low three 
times to the goddess Kali. He then showed me an 
image of that bloodthirsty female with her necklace of 
human heads. I was about to express my opinion of 
this inhuman worship when the thought of the eternal 
hell fire of our Christian creed came to moderate my 
indignation. 

This corner of India is like an eddy off from the main 
current. So conservative is the Maharajah that he will 
not own a motor car. His nobles long for them but 
dare not indulge themselves against his prejudices. 
Not one of the ladies of his purdah has ever received a 
European woman, not even a woman doctor, yet even 
here some little progress has filtered through. I asked 
the clerk of the council if he would kill a cobra. He said 
he had done so and would do it again. Then I asked 
if he would take a drink of water from my hand. Under 
ordinary circumstances, no, but if he were suffering 
greatly he would. These are large concessions which 
please me highly. We went to the jail this morning 
and I was greatly pleased with the superintendent. 
He said he had never had a prisoner flogged since he 
took the post eight years ago, that he did all he could 
to ameliorate their lot, and had never had any disturb- 
ance among them. Some were weaving lovely carpets 
for His Highness, but I do not think they can follow 
this trade after leaving prison though I forgot to ask. 
I told him about the Manila jail and how it fitted its 
inmates to lead useful lives. I disapproved highly of the 
fetters on the legs of the men and he said he would try 



512 The Old World 

to get them removed, that he had urged His Highness 
to give the necessary orders for it, which he had prom- 
ised to do at some future time on visiting the jail in 
person. His Highness is now making a pilgrimage to 
the holy places on the Ganges, but a far holier deed 
would have been to strike the chains from these poor 
wretches. The jailer said he would do his utmost on his 
return to get it done. This man has been in the English 
service and has been lent to Jaipur by them. 

The Museum here was opened for me. It is fine but 
fatiguing. In the garden, I looked at my friends, the 
big tigers and the crocodiles. The old crocodile with 
three eyes which Sedley and I saw is no longer here. 
I do not think the Pink Street is as brilliant in color as 
it was seventeen years ago. 

I am the only guest in the hotel. The crows come to 
my veranda to snatch the remains of my chota-hazri 
and the sparrows hop on the dinner table for my 
crumbs. I am so lonely I feel like the prophet being fed 
by the ravens, only these birds come to be fed and not 
to feed me. During my drives, I see the most gorgeous 
peafowls. They and the pigeons are sacred. 

AjMER, 

March 3, 1915. 

It was quite a come-down arriving here with no one 
to meet me. There is no good hotel and after trying the 
railway station room, I sallied out in quest of mission- 
aries and was luck}'- enough to find Americans, young 
ladies from Michigan, a teaching mission. I am most 
• comfortable with them. All the mission ladies I have 
met are very good housekeepers and make the most of 
simple, wholesome food. There is a very fine college 
here, built for the education of Rajput princes and 



'•^&iMi^i:&§i 




MAHARAJAH OF JAIPUR 



Through Old Eyes 513 

nobles, the Mayo College. In the center of the garden 
is a large building used for classes. Around it in the big 
enclosure are grouped thirteen beautiful buildings 
erected for the boys by the rulers of the native states 
from which they come. The boys all belong to the 
nobility, of course. The day I saw it was a holiday. It 
must have been something like a Puritan Sabbath for 
they were not even allowed to play games. I went 
through one dormitory. Each room had its little 
library of English books. I became quite interested in 
three small brothers from Nepal. They were quite 
fair with refined features. The English books in the 
room of the youngest were profusely illustrated. This 
little fellow wore big diamond studs in his ears. I said, 
"You should give those jewels to your sister." "Oh, 
my sister has some, " he replied. He told me proudly, 
"I am a Gurka of the ruling race in Nepal. " Nepal is 
entirely free, I understand, except that it can make no 
treaty with foreign powers. These three brothers were 
of a very different type from the Nepalese pilgrims I saw 
in Benares. These latter looked like Tartars with flat 
faces and high cheekbones. The youngest brother had 
an accordion and played quite well on it. I told the 
teacher who conducted me that all these boys should 
learn music and dancing; that in America these things 
were highly esteemed. The Orientals associate them 
with Nautsch girls. Of course these Rajputs are ex- 
ceedingly conservative and when I said I loved to'dance 
with my grandchildren I only horrified them. 

In the afternoon two of the mission ladies drove with 
me to the public gardens. A horticultural exposition 
was being held and the flowers were perfectly exquisite. 
We could stay but a short time, however, for when a 
crowd of Hindoo holiday makers came in my lady 
33 



514 The Old World 

companions were frightened. It seems that Europeans 
are expected to stay in their houses during this festival. 
I was not scared and wanted to look at the flowers 
longer, but I was obliged to go. 

This morning I rode seven miles in a tonga with a 
pair of stout horses over the mountain to see the most 
sacred lake in all India and the only Brahma temple in 
the peninsula. The lake is called Pushkar and is 
surrounded by temples making a picturesque scene. 
I do not know why this should be the only temple 
erected to Brahma unless it be that he does not inspire 
fear. In the visitor's book kept by the priests, I copied 
off the following lines of some enthusiastic Indian 
scholar: "Only temple of our old historic times and 
have become much pleased with the nice management 
of (name of the manager) who possess in him very good 
magnetic power to attract all community and amiability 
of character which will please everybody of every kind 
of rank in society. Our generous Great Britain is pa- 
tronizing this holy temple by which I can imagine our 
Hindoo religion will some day or other be regarded as 
the most sacred of all the religions prevailing in the 
world at present . All religionists will at this temple with 
the same eye as our ancients used to do so. " I presume 
there were other equally racy entries but I only read 
this one. The signatures of Lord Hardinge and his 
wife, Winifred, were framed and put under glass, the 
only ones so honored. 

Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay, 

March 6, 1915. 

As I had written to my Parsi friend. Miss Cursetjee, 
that I was coming, I found waiting for me an invitation 
to attend a great memorial meeting in honor of the late 



Through Old Eyes 515 

Mr. Gokhal, the Hindoo patriot and statesman. I 
arrived late and found the hall densely crowded, but 
Miss Cursetjee's name was all sufficient. A gentleman 
took me to the front row where I found her seated. At 
first she asked a sweet-faced Parsi lady sitting behind 
her to share her seat with me. This I positively 
refused to accept, but I perched myself on the extreme 
edge of her chair as she is very small. I was not 
uncomfortable and highly interested. Electric fans 
cooled the air. Many races and religions were repre- 
sented on the platform. All paid the warmest tribute 
to the dead man, and all spoke in English, The Aga 
Khan had a good deal to say. His color and face are 
almost European. I am curious to know more about 
this gentleman who is called "His Highness." I am 
told he is the head of a numerous sect of Mohammedans, 
not only in India but in Zanzibar and South Africa; 
that he is a cultivated gentleman with immense in- 
fluence over his followers which he uses for good from 
the European point of view. He does not look over 
thirty, but I cannot judge of his age. Sir James Roberts, 
in speaking of him, said he was descended from the 
Old Man of the Mountain. Now I think that individual 
lived during the crusades and founded the Order of 
Assassins, but I have no books here to look him up. I 
never heard of any Mohammedan sects except the 
Sunnis and the Shiahs, though I have read there is a 
reform movement going on in Persia. 

After the meeting was over, the Governor's wife 
stopped to shake hands with Miss Cursetjee. I saw 
no other lady so honored. My kind friend would not 
let me go back to the hotel in a street car, so turning to 
the sweet-looking Parsi lady, she spoke to her rapidly 
in their language and borrowed her carriage. When I 



5i6 The Old World 

objected to this she said: "She can go home in her 
husband's motor car. " The master of ceremonies 
called the carriage, and up it came, exceedingly hand- 
some, with two fiery horses. A sice in livery was hold- 
ing on to each horse's head with one hand, while 
carrying in the other a long staff from which floated a 
plume of white horsehair. After the carriage started, 
these two grooms ran som.e little distance holding the 
horses and then they leaped on to their places behind. 
The Parsis are very wealthy and are foremost in 
public spirit and in all good works. Naturally they 
are the friends of English rule, for that means peace 
and security. The discontent which exists in India is 
like that in the Philippines, mostly confined to the 
young educated class eager to seize the reins of govern- 
ment and rule the country themselves. They resent 
that their salaries should be lower than those of English 
officials, but an Englishman could not and would not 
live on what is affluence to a Hindoo. No doubt many 
chiefs would love to play at the great game of war. 
An independent, ambitious career appeals to their 
imagination. But India is now being bound together 
by the use of a world language, English. The vast 
majority of English officials are entirely honest and 
capable. Under them the lion of Islam with its bloody 
creed is made to lie down in peace with the lamb of 
Hindooism. 

We had a gay dance in the hotel last night at which 
I looked on with pleasure. The modern dances are 
very fascinating to watch. Among the spectators was 
the native prince of Kapurthala. One of his wives, who 
was present, was a Spanish danseuse. She looked lovely, 
but he was far from attractive in appearance. When 
we see these native princes in moving pictures arrayed 



Through Old Eyes 517 

in gorgeous Oriental dress, we are struck with admira- 
tion, but in European dress and bareheaded, they lose 
immensely in their good looks. 

Yesterday I went to Cook's to see about my ticket 
and to engage a deck cabin. After the agent had looked 
at my papers, he asked, "Are you an American?" 
"Yes," I answered. "I never should have thought it, 
for you have no accent, and I mean it as a compliment. 
Madam. " Bows and acknowledgments on my part. 

On Board the Italian Steamship Roma, 
March 15, 1915. 

My dear Family: 

After Colonel and Mrs. Stewart left the hotel in 
Bombay, I should have been very lonely but for my 
friend. Miss Cursetjee, who obtained the most desirable 
invitations for me. One afternoon while driving, we 
passed an elegant residence on the water front. "To 
whom does that palace belong ? " I asked. ' ' Would you 
like to see it?" replied Miss Cursetjee. "Indeed I 
should"; so we stopped the carriage and went in. The 
family were sitting on a veranda enjoying the evening 
lights on the water. They embraced Miss Cursetjee 
cordially, and one of the ladies showed me the beautiful 
house, with its reception rooms, large enough for 
hundreds of guests, lit by enormous chandeliers. This 
family, or rather one member of it, has built a large 
sanitarium for the use of poor Parsis. In it a suite of 
rooms overlooking a garden and the sea may be had for 
one rupee a day. 

Monday afternoon I went to the meeting of a society 
intended to bring together in India ladies of various 
races and creeds. Lady Willingden, wife of the Governor 
of Bombay, is president of this society. I went alone 



5i8 The Old World 

by Miss Cursetjee's instructions, dismissing my carriage 
when I arrived, I found that dear lady standing with 
Lady WiUingden on the thick green sward in front of 
the garden paviHon, in which were laid long tables 
covered with dainties. The contrast between the tall 
fair English lady in white muslin and lace and the little 
Parsi lady was quite striking to the eye. Lady Willing- 
den is beautiful and still young, though she has lost a 
son in the war. The arrival of the guests in their 
gorgeous dresses was very interesting. They wore 
Indian tissues sparkling with gold and silver threads 
and shining jewels. They descended from elegant 
carriages and motor cars and were received by servants 
in red and gold liveries. The guests all took refresh- 
ments, except me. I was introduced to some Parsi 
ladies and was much entertained by the whole affair. 
As usual Miss Cursetjee captured a superb motor car 
in which we were whirled off to the house of the Aga 
Khan's mother. I had hoped to see him, as he speaks 
English perfectly, but he left for Delhi that morning. 
I am told he has used his immense influence with his co- 
religionists to prevent the possibility of a holy war which 
the Germans and Turks are inciting. His mother, the 
Lady Alisha, was expecting us. In her antechamber 
was a group of prettily dressed girls. The old lady was 
in her reception room which opened on a wide veranda. 
A garden lay between this veranda and the sea. She 
could speak no English, and as Miss Cursetjee is elo- 
quence itself, my r61e was a silent one. After waiting 
for some time, I ventured to suggest that I should like 
to ask a few questions. Miss Cursetjee then let me 
know that she was engaged in recounting my history, 
which was apparently far more interesting than any- 
thing I could possibly have to say. Miss Cursetjee had. 



Through Old Eyes 519 

from time to time, already related something of this 
history in my presence in English, and I had found it 
necessary to restrain the narrator in many particulars, 
but since the language was unknown and the history 
interminable, I was forced to amuse myself with my 
elegant surroundings, in examining the old carved 
ebony furniture and the exquisite rugs brought from 
Persia. Most of the furniture, also, came from Persia 
and was brought over by this family. The rugs do not 
wear out or change. I have been told that the Aga 
Khan's parents were both descended from a certain 
Persian Shah. In the troubles of that land, this branch 
of the family moved to Beloochistan where the grand- 
father fought for the British. They have been much 
honored by the English government since then, and 
their titles have been restored to them. Beyond this I 
could learn nothing, since I could take no part in the 
conversation. I have read that some Shah of Persia 
saw a ballet in Paris and was so pleased with the dress 
that when he returned to his country, he enforced it in 
his harem. The Lady Alisha's costume reminded me 
of that story. Her skirt reached but little below her 
knees. She wore the tight trousers that all Mohamme- 
dan ladies seem to wear. The old lady keeps purdah 
very strictly and has fallen into certain careless habits 
which the society of men would have corrected. She 
sat hugging one foot across one of her knees. She had a 
good sensible countenance and wore an air of dignified 
authority. Very strong tea mixed with cream was 
served. I drank a cup and sacrificed my night's rest. 
I also tasted some Persian sweetmeats. A large orna- 
mented cake seemed to be made principally of almond 
paste mixed with some odd conserves. I ate a piece, 
found it very good, and was seized with a prompt pain. 



520 The Old World 

I can't understand why people in hot cHmates should 
eat such indigestible things, but the climate of Persia 
is very cold in winter. As I was free to wander where I 
chose, I went into the veranda whence I could overlook 
the garden and the sea. The two ladies followed me 
here and talked until it was time to leave. The Aga 
Khan's fine car took us away to Miss Cursetjee's own 
pretty home where she lives happily and usefully with 
her brother and his wife. She brought up her sister-in- 
law and now helps to rear the children. She is a most 
useful woman and is head of the Alexandra English 
School for Indian girls, is vastly respected, with hosts 
of friends. Indeed, she is a most admirable character. 

Before I left, Miss Cursetjee made an engagement 
for me with a Mohammedan lady of high rank. The 
latter called punctually at four o'clock and took me to 
a reception at the Commissioner's house. The rooms 
were elegant, the music lovely, and the refreshments 
delicious. I had not meant to eat anything, but was so 
tempted by the fine strawberries and cream which were 
offered in the greatest profusion that I ended by par- 
taking heartily of this luscious fruit. The dazzling 
dresses of the Oriental ladies interested me greatly. 
One dear lady took a seat by me and said, with a rich 
color mantling her cheek: "I am glad, so glad to meet 
you, for I have heard Miss Cursetjee talk of you. " It 
was well I was leaving the next day, for I never could 
have lived up to that marvelous history and reputation, 
and it is very painful to destroy illusions. The Moslem 
lady, after this reception, took me for a visit to her own 
home where she showed me her wedding dress and 
jewels. There was a mantle of dark, heavy silk loaded 
with gold embroidery which had wrapped her up head 
and all the night of the marriage ceremony. In this she 



Through Old Eyes 521 

had to sit the whole night and was nearly dead from 
fatigue the next morning. How much gayer is a Parsi 
wedding where there is no purdah for the women. They 
are like the Europeans in their customs. The Moslem 
lady asked me about the war, and was much distressed 
when I told her I believed the Turks would lose Con- 
stantinople. She said she hoped I was mistaken, that 
the people of India dreaded Russia and hoped to rule 
themselves some day. She sent me back to the hotel 
in her car and so ended my last day in India. 

Next morning I went to the censor's office and begged 
so persuasively for my letters that on reaching the ship 
I found them there waiting for me. 

March 21, 1915. 

I have been much interested in the conversation of 
an American missionary on leave of absence who is on 
board with his wife and little boy. Mr. Perkins has 
lived in India twenty-nine years, knows the Tamil 
language of his district perfectly, is very intelligent 
and a man of high character. L. had written me of cer- 
tain charges made in America, that famines are more 
common in India since British rule than before. I 
shall quote Mr. Perkins: 

The longer I lived in India, the more I admired British rule 
in that country. My district lies three fourths under the 
English government and one fourth under native jurisdic- 
tion. The farmers in the latter portion are constantly 
complaining that they cannot have the security and justice 
that those across the border possess, while these latter are 
fully conscious of the advantages they enjoy and often tell 
me how much better off they are than those who live under 
a native prince. If I had a suggestion to make, it would 
be that the English increase the taxes sufficiently to employ 



522 The Old World 

more English officials and fewer native ones. This would 
be in the interest of the farmers. At present the humbler 
posts are held by natives. These have the traditions and 
habits of their race, they take bribes and annoy those who 
refuse to give them. A man who receives forty dollars a 
month will not only support his own family but help his 
poor relations and save money. Those getting salaries of 
from eighty dollars to one hundred dollars a month have 
more checks on them, are more carefully supervised, and 
consequently have to be more honest in their dealings. 

He told me of a farmer who refused to pay a bribe 
to a native official and his land was actually put 
up for sale without his knowledge (I mean his lease). 
It cost the man much money and Mr. Perkins much 
trouble to arrange the matter. The sons of the 
pariahs, who get education from the missionaries, are 
in demand in their villages to read leases, receipts, 
etc. One such man who had been thus educated rose 
so high in his village community that in a deadlock 
between opposing candidates he was actually chosen 
mayor. To one who knows the attitude of the higher 
castes in India toward the pariahs, this incident is 
extremely significant. In this connection I remember 
that Mrs. Jwala Prasada had a Christian for a cook who 
had been a pariah. Had he remained an outcast, he 
could not have entered her kitchen in any capacity. 
I was surprised to hear Mr. Perkins say he would rather 
be a poor farmer in India than a poor man in any large 
American city, for such farmers lead independent, 
happy lives, but many are improvident in spite of 
mission teaching. They will go heavily in debt at the 
"marriage of a daughter, borrowing money at usurious 
rates. As for the greater frequency of famines, Mr. 
Perkins and all others I spoke to on the subject agree 



Through Old Eyes 523 

that this is untrue. Irrigation has greatly reduced the 
famine area. Railroads can hurry food to stricken 
districts. Mr. Perkins and a Scotch engineer on board 
both told me of the enormous irrigation works which are 
being extended all the time. Mr. Perkins says the 
English do pay the natives engaged in the big game 
drives, but their native princes frequently do not. He 
conceded that English manners toward natives are 
often offensive and overbearing. This he says is but 
the adoption of the native manner toward an inferior 
caste, and is steadily diminishing. Mr. Perkins's 
eldest son was a wireless operator on the steamer, 
State of California, and was lost on that vessel nearly 
two years ago, for instead of saving himself he stayed 
at his post to send out messages which saved many 
lives. 

Port Said, 
March 24, 1915. 

My DEAR Family: 

At Suez, the southern end of the canal, we were 
plunged into great excitement. We reached the en- 
trance before day Monday morning and were expecting 
to enter the canal in a short time when the news came 
that a battle between Turks and Indian troops was in 
progress on or near the waterway. Those who could 
hear better than I said they heard the boom of cannon. 
We were detained there all day, hearing the wildest 
rumors. The captain would not permit any one to go 
ashore, but the German passengers, two first-class and 
some second class, were taken off the ship. They did 
not like it at first, but I think they got reconciled. They 
were sure of kind treatment and were not averse, I 
imagine, to seeing Egypt at the expense of their enemies. 



524 The Old World 

Well, Tuesday morning (yesterday) at eight o'clock 
we entered the canal, and the sound of cannon was now 
so loud that even I could hear it. To add to our excite- 
ment, a paper was circulated asking all the passengers 
to remain on the left or Egyptian side of the vessel as 
it would be dangerous for us to show ourselves on the 
other side. Iron plates were fastened around the pilot's 
house to protect him and the captain. Naturally all 
the passengers crowded to the dangerous side hoping 
to see something. I was torn between fear and curiosity. 
A lady passenger to whom a gentleman had lent a fine 
field-glass reported to me all she could see. She called 
out :" I see two regiments . . . they have artillery . . . 
now they are moving forward at double-quick, the men 
are running. . . . They have stopped running . . . 
they are seeking cover, etc. " I was in a state of feverish 
excitement. Oh, that they had been just a little nearer. 
The odor of battle is certainly intoxicating. An aero- 
plane came in sight, but too high for me to see it well. 
At length the cannon ceased firing or we could no longer 
hear it for we were hurrying through the danger zone, 
passing camp after camp of Indian troops. Some were 
digging entrenchments. Their camps were all pro- 
tected by trenches and wire entanglements. In some 
camps were many horses, in others large numbers of 
camels. We tied up for another vessel to pass us and 
questioned some of the ofiicers on board. They said 
the skirmishing had begun the day before and was 
continued that morning. We were now out of the 
fighting zone, but the whole length of the canal is 
guarded by camps of Indian troops. I took my place 
on the highest part of the vessel above the pilot's house. 
The captain sent up a chair for me so that I could sit 
comfortably and see the long stretch of narrow blue 



Through Old Eyes 525 

water, the shining sands, the entrenched camps, and the 
signal stations as well as the warships inside the canal. 
One of them. The Bacchante, had been very near us off 
the town of Suez, and we had waved greetings to the men 
as she moved into the canal to take part, as we thought, 
in the fighting, and the men had cheered us vociferously. 
She is a black-looking monster of twelve thousand 
tons. While I was up there talking to some American 
ladies, suddenly a terrific noise burst out behind our 
heads. It was only the big steam whistle, but I was 
sure it was an enemy's bomb. The lady next me and 
I began to scream and we threw ourselves into each 
other's arms, both tumbling over to the floor in the 
process. When we saw the absurdity of the situation, 
we laughed heartily, but a steam whistle close at hand 
can make a lot of noise. 

We reached Port Said last night and the five Ameri- 
can ladies left the ship there. All the passengers who 
went ashore had their luggage thoroughly examined in 
a mad search for bombs, or contraband articles, or 
incriminating papers. To have to repack all their 
belongings at eleven o'clock at night was not very 
agreeable, but such are the customs of war times. 

Off Naples, 
March 29, 1915. 

We got Italian papers at Catania and Messina giving 
war news. Poor Messina! The earthquake happened 
in 1908 and she still sits amid her ruins. The last 
great earthquake wrought enormous damage in cen- 
tral Italy, yet these young men on board are eager to 
plunge their country into war. My heart aches for the 
peasants who must do the fighting and pay for the war 
also. 



526 The Old World 

Last night looking at Stromboli with the red-hot 
lava streaming down its steep cone into the sea and 
listening to the young Italians singing patriotic songs 
about freeing their brothers from the Austrian yoke, I 
was so deeply moved by the thought of all the misery 
about to be poured out on the hard-working, frugal 
population of Italy that I could think of nothing else. 
One of the officers told me that Stromboli was so con- 
stantly in eruption that it served as a lighthouse to 
sailors. It stands out a huge cone in the midst of the 
ocean doing no damage, for the lava rolls into the waves. 
The ladies were dancing on deck, and I was listening 
to war talk and looking at this awful monster pouring 
its red-hot stream into the sea until a late hour. 

I have written a German letter to Magda. One of 
the German passengers is to take it for me. They 
returned to the ship at Port Said whither they had been 
sent by rail, for the English were not willing for them 
to see the canal defenses. I was just now telling my 
friends on board a little story illustrating the lack of 
political liberty in Germany. Once when I was visiting 
one of my German friends, we were talking together in 
the evening when the lady suddenly sprang up, tiptoed 
to the door, and looked out into the hall to see if there 
were any eavesdropping servants near by. She then 
returned and said solemnly to her husband: "Now you 
are completely in the power of Mrs. Ware. She could 
ruin us if she chose. " What he had said was absolutely 
trivial. I could not possibly remember it, but the all- 
pervading fear and suspicion made a deep impression 
.on mv mind. 



Through Old Eyes 527 

Hotel Smith, Genoa, 

April 7, 1915. 

My dear Family: 

I had no difficulty here with the customs as I had' 
feared. After assuring them that I had no salt, sugar, 
tea, coffee, chocolate, or tobacco, they did not even 
open my things. How I wish the United States would 
be equally considerate. I became very much interested 
in my companions after twenty-two days on shipboard 
and parted from them reluctantly. I should like a 
picture of Papalarga, our deck steward. We became 
very friendly. He was almost square, so short and so 
powerfully built was he, and he had a good, honest, 
smiling face, but he was terribly severe on the Arab 
merchants who boarded our ship as soon as we touched 
Egyptian soil. They had the loveliest ostrich plumes 
for sale. One of the German passengers bought eight 
for his five sisters. Papalarga expedited the departure 
of these merchants by beating them from the head of the 
steps as far as his long arms could reach. If they turned 
to remonstrate, they got the blows in front. I spoke to 
the stewardess and the captain about it and asked 
them to restrain Papalarga's ardor, but both approved 
his conduct on the ground that the itinerant merchants 
were thieves, which I do not for one moment believe, 
though such treatment might make thieves even of well- 
intentioned men. But to see Papalarga resting from 
these labors with such a look of satisfaction as if to 
say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," was 
truly amusing. At Naples, his family came on board 
to see him and then who so proud and tender as Papa- 
larga over the boy and the little wife, who was yet taller 
than he. I tendered them all the compliments and 
good wishes my Italian would permit and supplemented 



528 The Old World 

this with two francs in the little boy's hand, while 
the father beamed with satisfied pride. Italy is very 
democratic and I treated Papalarga with as much 
politeness as though he had been a ship's officer. 

The Consul-General here is Dr. Jones, a very pleasant 
and intelligent man. He lunched with me yesterday. 
He has been very busy getting Americans home from 
Italy. He says last winter he was requested by the 
State Department to recover an American passport 
from a Harvard professor of German birth who proved 
to be a spy. The man came to the Consulate and Dr. 
Jones, after locking the door, demanded his passport. 
At first, he refused to give it up saying he had paid for 
it, that it was his and he meant to keep it, but finding 
Dr. Jones determined, he finally threw the passport 
at the Doctor's head. Dr. Jones is from Virginia and 
knows Mr. Crosb}^, the gentleman I met in Bombay 
and who I was so proud to learn was a Mississippian. 
He says Mr. Crosby has offered his services to the 
United States to take entire charge of the Belgian relief 
work, paying all his own expenses. This will be a noble 
service, even better than the explorations in which he 
was engaged when, I met him. His eldest daughter is 
to be married in a few months to an Italian officer of 
high rank in Tripoli. 

To-day I made a little excursion to Rapallo, about an 
hour and a half by rail. On reaching the station, I 
found the weather very threatening, so I drove to the 
villa of Colonel and Mrs. Clark to pay them a call. My 
Srinagar friend. Miss Maud Murray, made me promise 
.to do so if ever I went to Rapallo. My driver saw 
Colonel and Mrs. Clark on an upper balcony and called 
out loudly to them, "I am bringing an English lady to 
see you." On hearing this, Mrs. Clark came down to 



Through Old Eyes 529 

the gate where I stood admiring her beautiful garden. 
I explained that we had a mutual friend in India and 
was received very cordially by mother and daughter. 
I had brought lunch with me from the hotel, but Mrs. 
Clark would not hear of my not taking that meal with 
them. This visit gave me a great deal of pleasure. 
When I left, I took a seat in an automobile bus for one 
of the loveliest drives, I believe, in the world. In spite 
of the rain, the scenery was enchanting. The coast is 
rocky and deeply indented, the waves and spray were 
dashing high in the air. All the way up the hills to the 
very summits were nestled picturesque houses set in 
verdure. This whole coast is lined with hotels, villas, 
and pretty cottages. I visited one of these cottages one 
day by tram with an English lady who is living in this 
hotel. We went to see her husband and his niece. The 
poor gentleman's mind is not normal and he is more 
tractable with his niece than with his wife. He began 
at once to ask me about theosophy in India but paid 
not the slightest attention to my replies. He told me 
he had written to the King of Italy saying it was 
robbery not to allow passengers any luggage free on 
railways. I could wish this letter might have the 
desired effect. 

I spend much time reading the Italian papers. I am 
so interested in their state of mind just now. They 
want to enter the war but wish to do so in conjunction 
with Greece, Rumania, and even Bulgaria, if possible. 
In default of this combination, they are watching 
Austria as the matador watches the bull to see when he 
is so weak that the death-blow may be given without 
danger. I approve most highly this attitude of Italy. 
Austria rules harshly her Italian provinces, and many 
refugees are here clamoring to be rescued, but the 



530 The Old World 

richest part of Italy lies in her plains to the north and 
it would be dreadful to have them desolated and those 
fine cities, world renowned, laid under contribution by 
Austria. Austria, too, has always fought her best on 
Italian soil expressing great contempt for Italy's army. 
Some of the newspapers seem to fear that the war will 
end before Italy gets into it, in which case adieu Tren- 
tino, Triest, and a full share of Albania. 

When I was here in 1908, Italian and French money 
were at par. Now French money commands a hand- 
some premium in spite of France being engaged in a 
death struggle. It is true that England is sustaining 
the finances of her Allies. It seems to me one of the 
most stupendous achievements in history, the financial 
r61e that England is playing, and all this with free trade ! 
Why cannot America give up antiquated tariffs and 
begin a fuller development? 

I am to lunch at the Consul's to-day. He is a Virgin- 
ian and I like him very much indeed. He tells me he 
has been here ten years and has never been able during 
that time to live on his salary. He is a protectionist 
and gave as one reason for this that our country needs 
such enormous revenues, mentioning particularly the 
expenses of the consular service. I was glad to point 
out to him that with all her tariffs, the United States 
paid much smaller salaries than free-trade England. 
I do not object to America paying small salaries if she 
wishes her citizens to set an example of the simple life. 
I do object, however, to such arguments in favor of 
protection. Dr. Jones is a Republican, but I should be 
.glad to see two parties in the South. I have no politics 
myself except freedom, and fraternity between all 
nations, and I should like to see the sources of demorali- 
zation and corruption eliminated as much as possible 



Through Old Eyes 531 

in our country. I cannot forget when I was in Japan 
with my son in 1897, that the merchants offered to 
make out two bills for us: one to pay them and the 
other to show at our custom house. They said they 
always did this for their American customers. Thus 
we corrupt the Japanese merchants and then abuse 
them for not being honest. They are just as honest as 
we make them and I do not believe they are below our 
average. Since free trade was introduced into England, 
what a difference in public and private morality there. 
I think we Americans are wonderfully good considering 
all the sources of corruption in our country. I have 
been eight days in this hotel, and as this is my third 
visit here they are only charging me nine francs a day, 
both rooms and food remarkably good. 

Paris, 
April 17, 1915. 

My dear Family: 

The day before I left Genoa I lunched at our Consul's. 
The occasion was somewhat spoiled for me by a head- 
ache. On the street that morning I had met him, and 
opening my bag to show him my tickets to Paris, I 
found I had lost them all. I returned on flying feet to 
the post-office, where I had just bought some stamps, 
in a fever of worry at the thought of being delayed here 
till I could get a check on London collected, but when 
the stamp clerk saw me coming he held out my tickets. 
I grasped his hand warmly for he had done me a great 
service. The shock gave me a headache which was not 
relieved till I had eaten an excellent lunch and had 
drunk the best tea at our good Consul's. All this and 
many similar worries would have been avoided had 
I stuck to my old time underskirt pocket instead of 



532 The Old World 

trusting all my papers and money to a treacherous 
handbag. The want of pockets goes a long way to 
explain the inferiority of women to men. 

On the train from Genoa, a French sergeant got 
aboard. I spoke to him at once saying he was the first 
French soldier I had seen since the war began and that 
I wanted to hear him talk. He was willing enough to 
do this and soon had everyone in the compartment 
delighted listeners. He described the good feeling, the 
comradeship in the army. The trenches have been 
great levelers. His own lieutenant, he said, got down 
from his horse to shake hands with him, which pleased 
him greatly. He said the prisoners they took were 
badly frightened at first, having heard wild tales of 
French cruelty. He showed us a patch on his coat where 
a ball had entered his shoulder and said that nothing 
would induce him to part with that coat. He was to 
have a whole day in Paris with his family and then 
return to the front. 

I was truly surprised on arriving here to find that 
this very house had been struck by a bomb from a 
Taube last October. Emilie has a photograph of the 
wrecked roof. It fell on a heap of mattresses in the 
garret which apparently deadened its explosive force, 
but fourteen persons were killed and wounded in a 
neighboring street on this occasion. Emilie thinks Paris 
is so closely watched now that there is no danger, but 
only last month a Taube bombarded a suburb mistaking 
it for Paris because it was so brilliantly lighted. I have 
taken two night walks with Emilie through this dark 
Paris and I rather like it. The bridges and smaller 
streets have no lights. Those on the boulevards are 
hooded so as to throw the light downward. All windows 
are closely curtained by police orders so that no light 



Through Old Eyes 533 

shows through. We saw very few people on the streets. 
Yesterday we called on a cousin of EmiUe's beyond the 
Seine, a charming lady whose husband is a naval com- 
mander at Saigon. They have six sons, three in the 
army, yet she is still pretty and youthful looking. The 
walk back was quite romantic over the long dark bridge, 
the full river flowing under with its muffled sound. I 
fancy things looked so in feudal times. 

I found Hallie and Sylvia at once and enjoyed greatly 
meeting them. Hallie wants me to move to their pension 
and declares I am as fixed here with Emilie as the Ger- 
mans are in their trenches, but I do not like to change. 

One afternoon we went to the Sorbonne where we 
heard a fine address from a former minister who has 
lost a son in the war. There was fine music and the 
Marseillaise was so beautifully sung that we applauded 
till my hands were sore. 

Soldiers' letters are often published in the papers. I 
shall quote you a passage from one of them: 

You think you have heard the Marseillaise, you who have 
listened to it at distributions of school prizes and similar 
occasions. You know nothing of its meaning to the soldier 
when, disheartened in the tide of battle, the bugle sounds, 
"the flag is in danger," and again "the flag has been 
captured," and then "Charge!" But the Marseillaise 
rings out, and each one feels inspired with the certainty of 
victory. We charge. We recapture the flag. We drive the 
enemy before us. Just so it happened the other day. The 
Bosches had driven us across the river; we had lost heavily. 
We found ourselves in a little village lit by the flames of 
burning houses, where women and children screaming with 
terror clung to us. Then we heard the call, "Charge! 
Rescue the flag!" and the Marseillaise bore us on. The 
fight was desperate, but we won and drove the enemy 



534 The Old World 

from the village. I do not wish ever again to hear the 
Marseillaise under any ordinary circumstances. I shall 
turn away for I wish to keep such memories sacred. 

I give only a free translation. I cannot do justice 
to the letter which filled me with emotion. 

We have been to the great American hospital called 
' ' Les Ambulances Americaines. ' ' The men there are so 
thoroughly cared for that when I asked if there were 
anything I could bring them I was told to bring flowers. 
They really need nothing which is not provided. This 
is very gratifying, but I think I can give more pleasure 
by going to the big French hospitals where luxuries are 
not so common. At the American hospital I saw one 
man who had received fifty wounds from shrapnel, but 
he had lost only one leg; the other was much damaged. 
His face, however, was not disfigured. He was carried 
about in a rolling chair. I spoke to a group of native 
soldiers from Algeria. One had lost both eyes. 

April 24, 1915. 

The aeroplanes I see here are perfectly beautiful, 
floating in the air like wonderful birds, but I believe 
I never saw a bird in its flight so beautiful as they, just 
high enough to be ideally outlined against the blue sky. 

At times I feel quite uneasy about the German air 
raids on Paris, but I believe I prefer them to drowning 
like a rat in a ship blown up by a German submarine. 

Emilie says that during the German advance on 
Paris, the shopkeepers lowered all their prices, for they 
felt sure that Paris would fall, knowing well it could not 
resist the huge German siege guns. They call that 
period "during the war " and say : " Oh, that was during 
the war; we can't sell at such prices now. " At first it 



Through Old Eyes 535 

confused me to hear them saying, "during the war," 
and "since the war," but now I understand it fully. 
There was a great exodus of the civil population during 
this advance. Emilie left, taking only a handbag; no 
room for other luggage on the train. After incredible 
fatigues, she succeeded in reaching her little farm high 
up on a mountainside in the south of France. Her 
account of her adventures is quite thrilling, but the 
papers are full of similar stories. The fraternal feeling 
among all classes in France in this hour of common 
danger is beautiful. But the suspense of those cruel 
days when no one knew what England was going to do 
was terrible, also the bitter time when Belgium was 
being crushed, followed by that flood of miserable 
refugees and those days full of crushing anxiety before 
the battle of the Marne came to stop the French retreat. 
This battle is always referred to as "the miracle of the 
Marne." 

May I, 1915. 

We have visited the Rothschilds' palace which is 
converted into a convalescent home for soldiers. The 
statues and pictures are covered, but the soldiers are 
royally lodged and the garden joins the Pare Monceau, 
the loveliest of Parisian parks. I enjoyed talking to 
the soldiers. Those who came from the northeast of 
France have not heard a word from their families since 
October. 

I gave a little tea party a few days ago to about a 
dozen ladies. I read one of Nellie's letters to them 
describing Madame Dufarge's visit to Berkeley in order 
to raise funds for Belgium. One of my guests was a 
Belgian refugee who knows Madame Dufarge and her 
husband well. She says he is the most distinguished 



536 The Old World 

surgeon in Belgium. Emilie's cousin, wife of the naval 
officer, was also present, and during the tea we heard of 
the sinking of the Leon Gambetta with all on board. We 
were all deeply affected, especially Madame Fator. Her 
husband commanded the unfortunate ship for two years 
and she knew all the officers intimately. An admiral 
and his staff perished on her. The lights went out, so 
that no effort to save themselves was possible, all going 
down in the darkness. 

Next day Emilie and I went to an artists' lunch. A 
room, where two meals daily are served to poor artists, 
had been engaged by some charitable American ladies. 
If they can they pay ten cents, if not, nothing is said 
and no one knows which guests pay. Each day a lady 
presides over the cooking and service. One of Emilie's 
friends was on duty Thursday and invited us to come 
and share the artists' lunch. We got there early, in 
time to help peel potatoes for the evening meal. Emilie's 
friend found us thus engaged. She is the wife of a well- 
known Parisian painter who was one of the collaborators 
of Puvis de Chavannes. The meal began with bread 
soup which I have learned to appreciate highly. It is 
the soup of the French peasant, in fact the national soup 
of France, and I feel that in appreciating it I have put 
myself in unison with the soul of this great people. I 
am going to introduce it in America where so much 
bread is thrown away. It is most excellent for children 
and old people. The soup was followed by stewed veal 
served on a bed of mashed potatoes. Each guest had a 
small carafe of red wine, bread at discretion. For 
dessert, the choice of fruit or a small piece of cheese 
was given. Coffee was served at two cents a glass. 
This is a most worthy charity for those artists too old 
or too feeble to be in the army, not to speak of the lady 



Through Old Eyes 537 

artists. The whole resources of this nation are turned 
to purposes of defense. There is nothing left for the 
graces of life. The actors and actresses have suffered 
so much that a few places of amusement are now being 
opened for their benefit. We went to one and saw a 
tragedy followed by pictures of the armies and the 
singing of patriotic songs. The other day I stopped and 
listened with pleasure to some street singers, and on 
paying my contribution I asked for an old favorite 
that Zulme used to sing to the children, but I was 
refused. They said that only patriotic songs could be 
sung during the war. , 

May 8, 1915. 

Social engagements and the dressmaker filled up the 
past week. I must have looked shabby in India, for 
Mrs. Morwood gave me a list of dresses which she made 
me promise solemnly to have made, but truly the path 
to the dressmaker is a via dolorosa for me. 

Among other visits, we went to the studio of Mr. 
Koos whose wife asked us to the artists' lunch. It 
seems there are eight similar lunch rooms for artists in 
Paris. Mr. Koos has been twice to Boston putting up 
Chavannes's pictures in the library there. In his studio 
we met an interesting refugee from the war zone, the 
organist from Arras. He fled amid a rain of German 
shells with his two half-grown daughters. He belongs 
to a musical family, his brother being a composer. One 
of his operas is frequently given at the Opera Comique. 
I was hurried away from this studio by Emilie to keep 
an engagement at the aviation field, leaving Monsieur 
Georges in the midst of his thrilling adventures in which 
his good old "Bonne" figured prominently. I have 



538 The Old World 

asked the whole family to spend next Wednesday 
evening here. 

We dined one evening last week with the widow of a 
young officer killed last September. Her baby was 
born since. She read us some of his letters from the 
front, most beautifully and tenderly written. Coming 
home that night through the darkened streets was very 
impressive. We felt no fear. There is scarcely any 
crime in Paris now. Our concierge was called to the 
front a few days ago. I felt sorry for him. He looks 
so domestic, so unwarHke, but everyone who can carry 
arms must go. Not even the priests are spared. 

Madame Fator tells us of the most heartrending 
scenes in the families of the officers who perished on the 
Leon Gambetta. Emilie reads me letters from a young 
girl who is now teaching school in a little French village. 
Her position depends on the good will of the mayor. 
On her arrival, the mayor told her on no account to 
enter the village church or buy anything at certain 
shops. There are two parties confronting each other in 
this little world and they appear irreconcilable. On 
the one side the church, the rich resident in the chateau, 
and their religious free school. On the other side are 
ranged the mayor and the state and communal school. 
This school has government-appointed teachers and is 
helped by the state if the commune is not able to 
entirely support it. Emilie's friend hates being drawn 
into this political contest but dares not offend the 
mayor. He married the first girl who filled this position, 
but there is no one to perform this kindness for this 
lonely girl who longs to go to church and wishes natur- 
ally to shop where she pleases. The commune has the 
power to close schools taught by nuns in convents, 
but if they have left the convent they are no longer 



Through Old Eyes 539 

regarded legally as nuns but merely as breadwinners. 
I had hoped this war would have stilled such animosities, 
but religious hatreds know no truce. 

We recently had a call from an officer who has charge 
of the depot where military trains come in, and prisoners 
and wounded soldiers received. He told me that the 
prisoners they took during the great drive on Paris 
last autumn were famished, ragged, exhausted, but 
full of spirit and defiance. One of these said he was 
a nephew of Prince von Buelow. This young officer 
occupied a second-class compartment all to himself. 
Immediately on arriving he demanded to see the officer 
in charge. The latter, young and somewhat uncom- 
promising, appeared before the haughty German and 
asked what was wanted of him. Herr von Buelow 
replied that in virtue of his rank he should have a first- 
class compartment instead of a second. The officer 
replied that he wished he did have a first-class compart- 
ment at his disposal as he needed it for his wounded. 
He then ordered a freight car to be cleaned out, had it 
brought up alongside with a plank across between the 
two cars, and a big policeman forced the furious officer 
to walk into it. Once inside the freight car, he strode 
up and down like a caged lion. In view of all the misery 
inflicted on Belgium and France, I think Von Buelow 
might have been more modest. 

I have just this moment been interrupted by the 
news of the sinking of the Lusitania. I know no 
particulars but I am filled with horror. Hallie, Sylvia, 
and the French governess I have chosen for the children 
were to sail on her on June 12th. This news is dreadful. 
Who could have believed such things possible one short 
year ago ! 

Dear little Pete's asking, "On which side of the war 



540 The Old World 

is the censor?" amused me very much. When I come 
home I shall explain to him all about that dreadful 
individual. 

Paris, 
May 14, 1915. 

My indignation over the Lusitania increases with 
every detail. The apparent helplessness of our govern- 
ment to protect its peaceable citizens is deeply 
humiliating. That the German Kaiser prefers to inspire 
terror rather than any other sentiment is manifest, but 
what is difficult to understand is that he should have a 
united people behind him. Surely there must be some 
among them who have retained something of their 
saneness and humanity though they dare not give 
expression to it. I am waiting to hear that at least the 
German-Americans have renounced all sympathy with 
such inhuman methods. Germany presents an object- 
lesson of the strength of the evolution of an idea — ^in 
her case, that of militarism. It has now flowered and 
borne its fine fruit of merciless barbarism. But if this 
war should put an end to this madness, extinguish this 
monstrous delusion, and free enlightened opinion in 
Germany itself, then shall we be able in the future years 
to look back on this dark blot upon our Christian civil- 
ization with less of pain. I feel deep sympathy for Mr, 
Wilson at this trying moment and am grateful to Mr. 
Taft for his friendly words of confidence which I read 
this morning. We are all mourning for Madame 
Dufarge who perished on the Lusitania, especially her 
Belgian friend here, Madame Bouquier. Through the 
kindness of a Parisian lady Madame Bouquier and her 
family are lodged in a beautiful home. 

Emilie and I saw five soldiers the other day sitting 



Through Old Eyes 541 

near the Eiffel Tower. We entered into conversation 
with them and found they had been at Maubeuge at 
the beginning of the war where thirty thousand of the 
French were captured (so at least these soldiers told us) . 
Their lieutenant asked them if they were willing to try to 
escape with him. Some sixty-five eagerly volunteered, 
and he led them to a village where they found a waiting 
train. They jumped into it and got away. The station- 
master who helped them off was shot almost imme- 
diately, for the Germans were in hot pursuit. When 
they arrived at Dunkirk, they were at once set to work 
digging trenches. They said they had not had a ration 
of wine since they left Maubeuge, and until that day 
they had not ceased hearing the sound of cannon for 
nine months. They are now being sent south for a 
much needed rest. They had had that day only one 
box of sardines for food, but it was morning. I gave 
them what change I had in my purse and promised to 
send them tobacco and chocolate, which I have done. 
One great grief to them was not hearing from their 
families within the German lines, and fearing that they 
had been driven from their homes and were now 
wanderers on the earth. I hope they will get their wine 
in the south, for they seem to miss it so much. 

I was painfully surprised to hear that a German 
aeroplane had thrown five bombs on St. Denis, Tuesday. 
I am always afraid of them. Tuesday night EmiHe and 
I were in the concierge's room talking to her nephew 
who had just been called to the front, when we heard the 
police ordering all lights out as an enemy air craft had 
been sighted. We rushed into the street Hke everyone 
else all eager to see what was going on. Several French 
aeroplanes were in the sky on guard. They were like 
brilliant stars, but when they threw out searchlights 



542 The Old World 

they resembled comets. It was very exciting but 
nobody was frightened. The Parisians would enjoy 
above all things to see a battle in the air in spite of the 
danger to those below, and for a few moments I shared 
this feeling. 

Emilie and I go to the hospitals very often. At the 
Val de Grace one poor man had a dum-dum bullet 
explode in his mouth. Such a horrible face, but he is 
grateful that he can see, though his eyes are so drawn 
downward that they look unhuman — ^no lips, only a 
cavity in which a little tongue can be seen incessantly 
moving. He can't smoke but likes chocolate. They all 
seem very grateful for tobacco and sweets. There are 
also German wounded at the Val de Grace but one 
cannot see them without a pass from the Governor of 
Paris. I am told they are treated exactly as the French 
patients. I talked to two of the Red Cross nurses who 
have charge of them. They said at first the wounded 
were scared, believing they would be mistreated, but 
they soon recovered confidence and are grateful to their 
nurses. 

May 22, 1915. 

I am constantly making myself disagreeable to my 
French acquaintances, as I did in India to the English, 
by doubting the stories of German atrocities. Enough, 
however, is proved from records of official orders to 
cover Germany with shame, but I cannot believe that 
all those good and kindly Germans whom I used to 
know have become demons. The Kaiser resembles 
Nero in several respects, his belief in his own divinity, 
his histrionic talents, and his success in establishing the 
Kaiser Cult in Germany where the slightest criticism 
of him or his acts is considered high treason. At one 



Through Old Eyes 543 

time when I was in that country, many hundreds were 
in prison for lese-majeste. Himself living in an atmos- 
phere of flattery, he has used the same means to intoxi- 
cate his people, "a chosen nation, beloved of God, none 
other equal to it, fitted and endowed for the special 
mission of governing the world, etc." My belief is 
the Germans have been infected heart and soul by this 
flattery till they have a contempt for all other peoples, 
and have gone out to conquer them for the glory and 
enrichment of the Fatherland and the good of the rest 
of the world. 

At the Val de Gr^ce Hospital I was shown men for 
whom the surgeons are making new noses. A nurse 
explained the process to me. A piece of gristle is taken 
from the man's rib. This is slipped under the skin of 
the forehead where it grows and becomes a graft. When 
the man is in fit condition for the operation, this gristle 
serves for a frame for the nose and is covered by skin 
from the forehead. The gap in the forehead is filled 
by drawing the edges of the skin together. The new 
noses were so bandaged that I did not see anything of 
them, but I shall see them later. One poor man looked 
so miserable that I asked the nurse if he wanted any 
special thing. She said he longed for a pate defoie gras. 
His eyes lit up when I promised to bring him one, and I 
hope he will be able to enjoy it. It will be interesting 
to watch the progress of his new nose. 

There is a hospital here called The Quinze-Vingt 
(15X20) founded by St. Louis for those crusaders who 
lost their sight during the crusades. There were three 
hundred of them (fifteen times twenty make three 
hundred), and quinze-vingt was the French word in 
those days for that number. 

Emilie's friend, the poor girl teacher, still writes 



544 The Old World 

astonishing details of the persecution of the church 
party and their free school by the majov. It seems 
incredible to an American. The girl writes that the 
mayor had a quantity of manure thrown very near the 
church, which she had had removed as being too near 
her school. The very children take sides and taunt 
each other. The free school has been closed forcibly 
so now all the children must go to the communal school. 
The young lady thinks the mayor has gone so far as to 
alienate his own supporters and cannot be reelected. 
In that case the free school will be quickly reopened 
and perhaps draw all the pupils from the public school. 
The mayor is now persecuting a poor old beggar 
because he had his wife buried by the priest; he has 
turned him out of his only shelter and ordered him to go 
home which is within the German lines. All this means 
that the government is trying to enforce lay teaching 
in the schools, whereas the people in many parts of the 
country cHng to religious teaching. 

Paris, 
May 29, 1915. 

Madame Bouquier has a letter from the secretary of 
Dr. Dufarge about his wife's death on the Lusitania. 
He says she busied herself to the last moment caring 
for those injured by the explosion and made no effort to 
save her own life. Her body was recovered and buried 
in London, the Queen of Belgium being present in- 
cognita. The day after the funeral, her husband per- 
formed twenty difficult operations. 

On Saturday Emilie and I were walking at St. Cloud 
and saw an aeroplane circling over our heads. Think- 
ing it to be French, we regarded it with admiration. 
It proved to be German disguised as French. Going on 



Through Old Eyes 545 

it dropped bombs on Paris which, however, did little 
harm. One fell in the Place Vaugirard where a great 
number of children were playing. It fell in the soft 
grass and did not explode. Yesterday afternoon I was 
out walking with Hallie when we saw three aeroplanes 
overhead. She made for shelter but I was sure they 
were French. I cannot conceive of an obedience which 
makes men willing to kill women and children in the 
most horrible manner, rending and mangling their 
bodies, but after the Lusitania one is surprised at 
nothing. 

I was at the Val de Grace on Sunday. Some of the 
men with new noses were up and unbandaged, but so 
ugly I hated to look at them. Of course I could not 
recognize the man for whom I had the pate, but he 
recognized me. These men are passed on to other 
institutions where their noses and other surgeon-made 
features are improved. The Val de Gr^ce is, as I 
understand, the first treatment. The saddest of all the 
hospitals to me is the Salp^triere where wounds in the 
spinal cord are treated. Some of the poor fellows lie 
for months before death releases them, and even those 
who recover have a dreadfully tedious and dreary time. 
I saw a hopeless case where the whole body had become 
infected. My heart was wrung for this man, so I told 
him all I could think of to encourage him. I spoke of 
the marvels of French medical skill, of the certainty of 
French victories, of his own recovery which would 
require patience and courage. The very ill soldiers 
like oranges and these we take. I shall visit the Sal- 
petriere regularly. I found a young farmer from Nor- 
mandy there. He had not been wounded long so was 
still cheerful. I spoke of my visit to his province, of 
the fine apples and cider I enjoyed there, and his face 

35 



546 The Old World 

lit up with pleasure. He talked of his farm and forgot 
for a time his sufferings. 

I have just read a letter from a French doctor, Pozzi, 
asking for aid for his typhus hospital in a frontier town 
of Serbia. Never have I heard of such misery. He 
writes to a Paris doctor of his acquaintance begging 
for sheets, towels, handkerchiefs, and cheap and simple 
washable clothing for his sick. He wants to build 
wooden sheds to house his patients, for they now cover 
the floor of the hospital so thick that some lie under the 
beds, two and even three of them in each bed. They 
have not room to stretch out and he says some die 
sitting upright, that all around him are the dying, no 
means of disinfecting, no change of clothing. I bought 
cotton sheeting and, some guests coming in that after- 
noon, we all went to work hemming sheets and big 
handkerchiefs. One of the company had just received 
a letter from her mother at Liege. It was concealed in a 
loaf of bread which had been smuggled out. She said 
they had plenty of food, thanks to the Americans. 

I had hoped in Paris to get daily authentic accounts 
of all that is going on, but the censorship is strict here 
also. Anything tending to discourage the people is 
suppressed. We hear of disasters only through private 
letters. I am beginning to fear the war will last a long 
time, though the entrance of Italy may make a differ- 
ence. The French are sending battalions to help the 
Italians, which is well as the French have learned much 
in these last few months. Some of the men in the 
hospitals told me they were wounded by French soldiers. 
They said it was a serious loss at first, this shooting of 
their own men by mistake. They told me that once 
after they had taken a German position, they were 
bombarded by the French artillery for two hours. If 



Through Old Eyes 547 

these French veterans can save the Italians from such 
mistakes, it will be a great advantage. Raw troops, 
especially of the southern race, do no doubt lose their 
cool judgment imder the excitement of a fierce attack. 
I get much discouraged reading of all this wretched 
butchery, this piling up of gigantic debt, these im- 
placable hatreds. Why will not the German govern- 
ment shorten the hopeless struggle? 

I have read a letter from an Italian in Berlin which 
told of a visit to a wounded German officer, an intimate 
friend of his, wounded months ago in Belgium. This 
officer said to his Italian friend: "The present war is 
our suicide, but who could have dreamed of the resist- 
ance of the Belgians. We entered that country with 
no artillery, only cavalry and infantry. And our 
cavalry, how they suffered, unsupported by cannon as 
they were! " This officer went on to say that they had 
expected to be welcomed by the Belgians. 

Paris, 
June 5, 1915. 

I had no idea Tom Dabney was in Paris. I thought 
him in Nice and his villa turned into a hospital, but 
Saturday as I was going into the Sorbonne, he hurried 
up and seizing both my hands cried out, ''At last I 
have found you." Of course, I did not recognize him 
and was much puzzled, but when he said, "Cousin 
Mary, you do not know me?" I recognized his voice 
and was so glad to see him. He asked us to spend 
Monday with him, but we could only give him the 
afternoon. Tom took me into his garden (for I arrived 
first) and there I sat and heard the whole story of his 
marvelous luck and then of his sorrows since the war. 
When the German guns were booming nearer and nearer 



548 The Old World 

to Paris, the thirty inmates of his "conservatoire" 
scattered and mostly quitted France. Since that time, 
he has been making a brave struggle to keep up, hoping 
for peace to bring back his prosperity. As I am very 
fond of Tom, his story was a thrilling one to me. He 
took us all over his garden, his house, and other posses- 
sions. The garden is well tended and the flowers 
beautiful, the vegetable portion of it flourishing, and his 
little orchard and vineyard most promising. This 
villa was a wonderful purchase of his. The house must 
have cost several times what he paid for the entire 
property. The big music hall or salon is a perfect 
beauty. I saw and admired the Winged Victory 
presented him by Heath. The famous painting of 
himself is no longer entwined with laurels, since the 
admiring throng of young ladies has fled. He has but 
three of them left and the villa is mostly closed. The 
flower garden next the house where we sat in arm-chairs 
has a beautiful view looking over green parks, distant 
church spires, and little villages. When I arrived, he 
was busy working his vegetables which showed me that 
he was truly of our family stock. He says the secret of 
the cheapness of this property was that it apparently 
suited no one but him. No ordinary family needs 
twenty rooms, and the wealthy wish their villas in the 
midst of grounds. This one is built directly on the 
street, the grounds all lie behind it. He has made a 
good many necessary changes in the house, but all 
had been paid for when the Germans appeared on the 
scene. Happily, they did not reach Sevres else 
they would doubtless have been quartered in Tom's 
house. 

We go a great deal to the hospitals, but I will not give 
you the details of all the misery we see there. The men 



Through Old Eyes 549 

are so pleased when we remember their names and 
individual tastes. 

June 18, 1915. 

I have visited the hospital for blind soldiers, one of 
the most pathetic sights of the war. Such fine vigorous 
young men, yet totally blind. One, a peasant lad, told 
me of his family, his mother, a widow, with his two 
little brothers still at home. He told me of the struggle 
she has to pay the rent without his aid, and yet out of 
their poverty a few sous are sent every. week to buy 
tobacco for him. The director told me he discouraged 
visitors to this hospital. Their compassion depresses 
the men's spirits. The doctors wish them to keep up 
the hope of recovering their sight until they become 
accustomed to the life of the blind. Many have only 
empty sockets instead of eyes. A society has been 
formed which is called the "Friends of the Blind" to 
assist these unfortunates. They are being taught to 
read by touch and also some simple trades. I am a 
member of this society. 

In one of the workshops for poor women, I met an 
old refugee from a village in the north. The Germans 
drove out all the inhabitants, six hundred in number, 
allowing each to carry only a small bundle. The night 
before this exodus a German soldier came at 2 a.m. to 
her house and demanded her savings. As she refused, 
he knelt on her chest and strangled her almost to death, 
but the poor creature persisted in denying that she had 
anything and after searching her hut with a lantern, 
he left empty handed. 

June 26, 191 5. 

Last Saturday we went to Fontainebleau. How 
pleasant it was to see from the train the lovely, smiling 



550 The Old World 

rural life of France unblackened by war. The fine old 
chateau has been dismantled of its furniture and historic 
objects. They have been hidden away for fear of 
German vandalism. The beautiful English gardens are 
now given up to wounded soldiers who occupy one wing 
of the building. Our guide was very interesting and 
devoted so much time to us as to bring down upon 
himself a severe reprimand from his superior as well as 
reproaches from other waiting tourists. We lunched in 
a small confectioner's shop whose owner had been killed 
in the war. The young widow served us well and we 
had a dessert of delicious raspberries and cream. 
During our afternoon drive in the forest, Sylvia was 
much amused at being asked to admire a great tree, 
the giant of the woods, called " Jupiter." She told the 
driver that in California she dined every day in summer 
under a tree twice as big at her father's country place. 
A dear Httle girl offered to be our guide in the forest 
when we left the carriage. She was very small but neat 
and clean. She stopped before a diminutive pond and 
said: "This is the pond where Henry IV fought the 
Leaguers, Religion and the Protestants." "Did he 
fight in the water, my dear?" "Oh, no, when it had 
dried up, " she answered. ' ' You have much knowledge 
of history, my friend." "Yes, madame, " she said 
gravely and simply. 

37 Rue des Acacias, Paris, 

July i6, 1915. 

We are now settled in our new quarters and early 

- every morning I sit on the terrace overlooking a garden 

of shade trees. It seems to be in the direct line of the 

aeroplanes and as soon as I hear their humming I can 

do nothing but watch them. The rays of the early sun 



Through Old Eyes 551 

are reflected from their metallic furnishings, but other- 
wise they look dazzlingly white. To the eye, they are 
huge and marvelous birds with nothing wanting to the 
illusion. The beak even is clearly visible as they soar 
above my head. They always excite in me feelings of 
awe. and wonder, seeming like supernatural creatures of 
unearthly beauty, for nothing can exceed the ease and 
grace of their movements. They have not the appear- 
ance of death-dealing engines of destruction, but are 
like guardian angels watching over the great city by 
day and by night. At night all that can be seen of them 
are brilliant, swiftly moving lights, with now and then a 
luminous trail as a searchlight is turned on. 

The little governess I engaged for the children has 
just been here to tell me of her tribulations in getting a 
passport. She was astonished at the crowds she found 
filling the Prefecture on the same errand. There were 
some tourists, but the crowd consisted mainly of Russian 
Jews who have been told that they must either join the 
French or Russian army or leave Europe. ' ' Madeleine ' ' 
brought away a strange impression and said, "What is 
your country going to do with all those Russian Jews?" 
evidently fearing that we were to be submerged by 
them. 

No, I do not agree with you in your wish for imme- 
diate peace which would only leave things as they were 
before. When my imagination pictures all the agony, 
and cruelty, and injustice occasioned by this war, I am 
so filled with wrath against its authors that I cannot 
endure the thought of a peace which will leave the 
possibility of a renewal of such horrors. Who can say 
"peace" to France with those torn provinces in the 
hands of her foes and utterly ravaged. All the machin- 
ery of their factories, all the products of their mines, 



552 The Old World 

all the wood of their noble forests, shipped to Germany. 
Never was such plundering heard of before among 
Christian nations. Germany is growing rich on this 
bloody booty. 

TOM dabney's conservatory of music 

Villa D'Aubign6, Sevres, 

July22, 1915. 

I lie in a hammock all day in this beautiful garden 
and listen to these girls sing. There are three girl 
students and two young men. One of the mothers lives 
here also with her daughter. One of the men is an 
interesting Englishman with a beautiful voice. He has 
no idea of being a professional singer but says his music 
has been such a social asset to him that he wants this 
training. He lived fourteen years on a ranch in Argen- 
tina and talks most interestingly about his life there and 
of that in London too. His voice is rich and sweet and 
seems to have made him equally popular in London 
and in the Argentine. For two months he was attached 
to the suite of Prince Alexander of Battenberg. It 
would be indiscreet to repeat what he tells of this 
experience. He could stand it for only two months. He 
is evidently a man of some means, but if disaster should 
ever overtake him, he could always find a career on the 
concert stage. 

DETACHED INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL WITH SEDLEY 

In November of 1896, after a visit to Damascus and 
Baalbec, we started for the Cedars of Lebanon. We 
were traveling as Cook tourists with a guide and 
baggage man all on horseback. Late in the afternoon, 
we arrived at a little Maronite village where we were 
to spend the night. When I saw the hut with its dirty 



Through Old Eyes 553 

floor and general air of uncleanliness where we were 
expected to sleep, I was so repelled that I asked if there 
were no other lodgings. I was told the Maronite priest 
also entertained travelers, so off we started for his house 
hoping to find better accommodations, but as we could 
see no difference between the two huts, we decided to 
return to the first one. The priest, however, was deter- 
mined to show us some hospitality and brought out a 
little wine which he offered. Not wishing to hurt his 
feelings, we were sipping this innocuous beverage when 
there appeared, coming over the brow of the hill, a 
small squad of mounted soldiers, their weapons sil- 
houetted against the evening sky. Now there had 
been serious massacres of Armenians during the pre- 
ceding month, and no Maronite could ever forget the 
horrors of the fearful and treacherous massacres of their 
co-religionists in the '6o's, so that squad of soldiers pro- 
duced consternation in the little village. Sedley and I 
went forward to meet them. On drawing near, a man, 
who proved to be a doctor,, dismounted to greet us. 
He told us in French that a crime had been committed 
near this village and the officer of the squad had been 
sent to investigate it while he was to report on the 
condition of a wounded Mohammedan now in the 
village. We begged the doctor to call on us later and 
report what he could hear about the affair. He did so 
and we learned the following particulars: Some Mo- 
hammedan traders had bought wheat in the Hauran 
where crops had been abundant and had sold it up in 
the Lebanon district where grain was scarce. With 
the proceeds of the sale, they were returning to their 
homes. At dawn they stopped to make coffee, as the 
night had been cold. While crouched around the open 
fire, they were fired upon, wounded, and robbed, one so 



554 The Old World 

seriously that he had not been able to escape with the 
others. The wounded man lay where he fell till some 
Mohammedans passing by brought him into the village. 
Sedley proposed going to see him in company with the 
doctor, for we felt very sorry for him thus plundered, 
wounded, and helpless among his enemies. Sedley 
promised me to give him some money. Habib laid our 
beds on the dirt floor and fatigue might have caused 
me to sleep had I not been attacked by swarms of fleas. 
There were also donkeys tethered behind our hut who 
felt impelled from time to time to bray in stentorian 
tones. But all this was as nothing to the cocks who 
occupied a corner of the room. I had no conception of 
the volume and shrillness of their crowing till thus con- 
fined with them in a narrow space. It was so brain 
shattering that I enveloped my head in the cover to 
deaden the sound, but all in vain. Sedley seemed to 
sleep, for he said nothing, but I had not a single moment 
of unconsciousness during the whole night. We were 
up early when Sedley said to me: "Mother, I did not 
wish to tell you last night but I acted like a fool with 
that doctor. I took out a twenty franc piece to give 
the wounded man and let that doctor quietly take it 
out of my hand. He said he would buy medicine with it 
for him, but I believe it will stick in his pocket." "Did 
he take the shot out of the man's leg?" I asked. "No, 
he did nothing for him and the man was suffering very 
much, had his leg thickly sprinkled with buckshot." 
"That wounded man needs no medicine, " I said. "He 
needs someone to extract those buckshot, and as for 
that doctor, he is simply robbing you both." Sedley 
was entirely convinced of this and in a very bad humor 
with himself. He had just put me on my horse when we 
heard the most piercing screams at some little distance. 




CHILDREN FOR WHOM THESE LETTERS ARE PUBLISHED. 1916 



Through Old Eyes 555 

S. ran back into the house, seized a gun hanging on the 
wall, and made for the scene of disturbance as fast as 
his long legs would carry him. I dismounted and 
followed as fast as I possibly could. The ground was 
rough, briers growing over debris of various kinds. 
Habib rushed after me imploring me in the greatest 
agitation to come back and keep out of the village 
quarrels. He said he could never return there if he got 
mixed up in their disputes. He was an arrant coward, 
which was his chief characteristic. I came up to a group 
of women surrounding one who was sitting with a 
young man across her lap, the young man's throat was 
gashed and his chest deluged in blood. These women 
were weeping aloud, and I thought certainly the man 
had received his death wound and I was full of pity. 
I left them to find Sedley. I passed another wounded 
man lying on the ground, his head swollen from the 
blows he had received. This case too excited my pity, 
but I still sought my son. I found him at last, scuffling 
with two men and dealing vigorous blows. It seems he 
had found a man beating another. Into this fray he 
had plunged to rescue the supposed victim. I felt 
very proud of him, for we did not learn till the following 
night that both the men were Maronites, one the village 
headman who had taken this inauspicious moment to 
punish a recalcitrant villager. What kept me alarmed 
was the presence of the squad of soldiers without their 
officer on the flat roof of a hut. They had their arms 
ready for use. I kept crying out to them, "Don't 
shoot! Don't shoot!" which, of course, they didn't 
understand but it relieved my feelings. Meantime 
Sedley ordered Habib to carry him to the officer's and 
the doctor's hiding place. They were both hidden away 
in one of the huts. As Habib followed Sedley, ash- 



556 The Old World 

colored, his jaws quivering, I thought I had never 
seen such an abject object of terror. The villagers, 
however, did not seem afraid. Habib's one thought was 
to get us out of the village and on our way to the Cedars 
of Lebanon. On finding the officer, Sedley told him he 
would report his conduct in Beirut if he did not get the 
soldiers away. He then turned his attention to the 
doctor and ordered him to produce the twenty francs, 
telling him he had heard that the friends of the wounded 
man had carried him off during the night. The doctor 
handed out the money meekly. The officer got the 
soldiers out of the village, but Sedley forced the doctor 
to attend to the man with the throat wound and found 
that it was not fatal. We then mounted our horses and 
departed. The trip was far prettier than the day before 
but I had no eye for landscapes. I was still excited over 
the scenes I had witnessed. On our return that evening 
to the village where we had to pass another night, 
Sedley began by removing six grown cocks from a 
hamper in the corner of the hut. After our supper, a 
deputation of young villagers came to call on us. We 
treated them to tea and biscuits (crackers), andHabib, 
now serene, translated their appreciative remarks. 
The people had thought us in sympathy with their 
enemies when Sedley visited the wounded Moham- 
medan and gave him money, but his subsequent conduct 
had shown them that he was their friend, and they 
thanked him warmly. When we approached Baalbec 
next day, the first person we met was that doctor on the 
watch for us. He was accompanied by a native whom 
he represented as a friend of the wounded man and 
demanded the twenty francs. Sedley turned to me in 
perfect disgust to know what I thought he should do. 
"Give him ten francs and get rid of him. " I have no 



Through Old Eyes 557 

idea the ten francs ever reached its destination, but we 
got rid of that contemptible doctor. The disturbance 
in the village was caused by the soldiers trying to seize 
food for themselves. It was not the practice of the 
Turks at that time to provide for their troops. 

When we arrived again in Beirut and took seats at 
the hotel table, a young lady present said: "I hear you 

have been to Baalbec. Did you meet Dr. ? Didn't 

you find him charming? So cultivated, so delightful! " 

In 1897, Sedley and I, during our trip around the 
world, visited Korea. It was then under its native king, 
and its government was, perhaps, the most corrupt and 
the most inefficient on the face of the earth. The 
Japanese might have improved matters even then, 
but they made themselves odious by the murder of the 
Korean Queen. There were no railways at that time. 
We went from Chemulpo to Seoul on a steamer so 
diminutive that we had to sit crouched on the floor of 
the cabin. On our arrival in Seoul, we called imme- 
diately at the American legation to secure a guide. Our 
minister recommended highly a young Korean noble- 
man named Pack. He told us, however, that, being a 
noble, Mr. Pack was sensitive and it would be better 
not to pay him directly but through the legation. This 
we willingly agreed to do, but I had reason to think 
later that our good minister was somewhat mistaken 
in his estimate of our guide's character. Shortly after 
our return to the hotel from the legation, a visitor was 
announced. I went downstairs and found myself 
confronted by one of the most startling apparitions I 
have ever beheld. It was the young Korean nobleman. 
He was dressed in a perfectly new suit of dazzling white 
silk of beautiful quality. His flowing robe, his trousers, 



558 The Old World 

his vest, his sash, were all of this lovely material. His 
stockings and shoes were also white, and on top of his 
head was placed a tall, narrow-brimmed hat also per- 
fectly white, attached under the chin by a broad bow of 
white silk ribbon. The hat could not have remained 
on his head without being tied, but the ribbon bow was 
quite a unique finishing touch. We had been traveling 
for months through Asia Minor and Palestine on horse- 
back, then through Egypt, India, and China, and were 
waiting for leisure in Japan to have our wardrobes 
replenished. The contrast presented by our guide was 
extreme and so overawed us that we put ourselves un- 
reservedly into his hands. He decided to begin our 
sightseeing the following morning in palanquins. Now 
we had tried palanquins in China and found them, as 
far as we were concerned, instruments of torture, but 
we were helpless. Next morning the three palanquins 
with their many bearers arrived and we poor victims 
got in. The streets of Seoul at that time were extremely 
picturesque. The men were all clothed in white, the 
women did not appear in public. White is mourning in 
Korea, but the Koreans had adopted it permanently 
because of several successive deaths in their royal 
family. The too frequent changes thus incurred in their 
wardrobe had put so great a strain on the financial 
resources of the people that they unanimously adopted 
mourning as a permanent dress so as to be prepared for 
any emergency. At certain hours of the day when the 
men were going to and from their work, the long lines 
of figures draped in white were very suggestive of the 
last day. I was told the women wash the men's gar- 
ments every night. They gave the white cotton a 
glazed look which improved its appearance very much. 
We were to visit some temples, and a pagoda of which 



Through Old Eyes 559 

the Koreans were very proud. This has since been 
carried off to Japan by the Japanese. We were most 
uncomfortable in the palanquins where there is no seat, 
and one becomes soon very cramped. One sees but 
little, too, from them, only the limited space straight 
ahead, and no kind of conversation was possible because 
we were taken in single file with ample spaces between. 
At last I heard Sedley calling out, "I feel like a fool in 
this thing and I am going to get out of it. " I cried out 
that he had expressed my feelings and that I should 
follow his example. Mr. Pack was wretched. In his 
finery, the idea of walking was most repellent to him. 
I implored him to ride and let us walk in comfort, but 
such a procedure appeared to him unseemly, so he 
became a martyr to spoil our enjoyment. The walk was 
otherwise most delightful, but we had the appearance 
of some odd and not altogether festive procession. 
Taught by this bitter experience, Mr. Pack proposed 
rickishaws for our next excursion, to which I assented 
gladly as a most agreeable means of conveyance. Only 
a few months before in Ceylon I had seen them for the 
first time, and never shall I forget my emotions on that 
occasion. My outburst of rage that human beings 
should use other human beings as horses was so spon- 
taneous, so strong and uncontrollable that I called out 
to Sedley, who was some distance behind: "This is an 
iniquity. If I had believed when you were born that 
you were to be put to such a usage, I should have 
strangled you then and there." This sentiment, re- 
peated and emphasized, disconcerted Sedley greatly, for 
he was enjoying hugely his drive in that hot climate 
between rows and rows of cocoanut palms and not 
worrying his head about man's inhumanity to man. He 
could only restore my equanimity by promising to fee 



560 The Old World 

the men liberally. And this he did on every excursion 
till I said: "Sedley, these men desire nothing more 
ardently than to obtain passengers for their rickishaws. 
Now we are not using them as much as we would do if 
we paid more reasonable fees, so I think on the whole 
that we had better do as other people are doing. " This 
advice was adopted and rickishaws became my favorite 
means of conveyance. As we were both good walkers 
we got out at every ascent and were most popular with 
our coolies. To return to Korea. It was curious for 
me to see Mr. Pack communicate with the Japanese 
rickisha wmen. He would write with his finger the names 
of the places we wished to visit and they would luider- 
stand him. One morning he asked to be relieved from 
duty that afternoon as his cousin was to give an enter- 
tainment and had invited him. I was so disappointed 
at losing his services that he suggested getting an invita- 
tion for us also. I was naturally much pleased with this, 
but I charged him to tell the lady that I had brought no 
luggage to Seoul and should be obliged to wear my old 
traveling dress in case she asked us to her entertainment. 
Mr. Pack took us early as he had to fetch another guest 
to his cousin's house. Sedley was carried to the men's 
apartments where, as I heard afterwards, he sat the 
whole afternoon silently facing Colonel Ling, the host, 
neither being able to speak to the other. This painful 
situation lasted till the bringing of refreshments re- 
lieved it temporarily. I was introduced into a room of 
Korean ladies dressed in voluminous skirts of bright- 
colored silk gauze gathered to broad waistbands. A 
bolero jacket and some odd ornaments completed this 
costume. The jacket was so nicely adjusted to meet the 
waistband that any movement of the arms showed the 
naked skin beneath, for the upper body had no other 



Through Old Eyes 561 

clothing. I found myself immediately the object of 
concentrated curiosity, and being unable to make 
myself understood, my situation was far from pleasant. 
The bevy of young women examined my clothing in the 
most thorough manner, even lifting my dress to see the 
underskirt as well as my shoes and stockings. Now, I 
was peculiarly sensitive to such an investigation at that 
time, and I felt sure too that their voluble comments 
were of no complimentary nature. I longed to tell them , 
as a patriotic American, not to judge my Country- 
women's toilets by mine and also of the strange coun- 
tries and scenes my worn traveling dress had passed 
through so recently, but I was, as it were, delivered 
helpless into their hands. However, an unexpected 
ally arrived on the scene. The guest whom Mr. Pack 
now brought proved to be an American lady, Mrs. 
Greathouse, mother of the legal adviser to the King of 
Korea. I discovered in a short time that Mrs. Great- 
house had undertaken in Korea the special mission of 
improving the customs of the ladies in high circles, and 
more particularly their manner of dress. She couldn't 
speak their language, but she had entertained them 
often in her home and her gestures reinforced her oft- 
repeated commands: "Pull up that waistband, pull 
down that jacket. " She had hardly introduced herself 
to me when she began to call out these words to the 
different offenders, and her eye was so vigilant that none 
escaped. I found conversation with her under these 
circumstances very trying, though revenge was sweet 
against that band of young women. We were now 
conducted by our hostess into the dining-room where a 
Korean feast was spread. I can enjoy the food of any 
nation, provided I am hungry and it is of good quality. 
I had, however, eaten a hearty midday meal and had 
36 



562 The Old World 

no appetite for Korean dainties. The oddest looking 
thing on the table was the so-called Korean bread, in 
shape like the sections of an orange, highly colored and 
glazed, red, blue, and white. I was sorry afterwards I 
did not secure a piece of it. What the Koreans them- 
selves most prized was a dish of California canned 
peaches. After this precious dessert had been refused 
by Mrs. Greathouse and me, our hostess took the dish 
in her own hands and going round the table she thrust 
a big half -peach into the open mouth of each lady and 
then put the remainder away for another occasion. 
As Mrs. Greathouse's zeal continued imfiagging in her 
efforts to keep the jackets and the waistbands together, 
preventing all connected conversation, I was glad after 
the feast when she proposed to take me home with her, 
but here we met with strong opposition from Mr. Pack. 
The rickishaws had been ordered for a much later hour, 
and according to him it was out of the question to leave 
without them. I told Mrs. Greathouse that Sedley and 
I loved to walk and would gladly escort her palanquin. 
I felt really sorry for our noble guide, who considered 
himself profoundly humihated by the whole proceeding. 
But the temptation to see the temple compound, which 
the Korean king had given to Mr. Greathouse as an 
official residence, was too great. As it turned out, I was 
affording immense relief to Sedley who had been bored 
past endurance the whole afternoon. We found the 
Greathouse residence very interesting, consisting of 
some small temples enclosed by a wall. Later, on our re- 
turn to the hotel, we received a cordial invitation from 
both mother and son to pay them a visit. It was a great 
pity that we did not accept, but I was intent on reaching 
Japan as soon as possible. We returned to Chemulpo 
where we were detained for days, and where several 



Through Old Eyes 563 

misfortunes overtook us, all of which we would have 
been spared had we accepted that kind invitation from 
the dear old lady. 

BOMBAY IN 1897 

On January 13, 1897, we landed in Bombay to find the 
plague raging there. I have read since that it has never 
been so bad in that city as during that year. The daily 
press devoted its first pages exclusively to details of the 
mortality and to conjectures as to the causes of the 
terrible visitation. One of the conjectures, which was 
acted on, was that the bathrooms, situated in those 
parts of a house where no windows were possible and 
no sunshine could penetrate, were to blame for the in- 
fection, so that for a time holes were made in the roofs 
of peoples' houses to admit sunshine into these dark 
closets, making property owners very angry. Rows of 
tents were put up to lodge the people whose homes had 
been condemned. The gruesome fear was also expressed 
in the papers that the vultures at the Towers of Silence 
would not be sufficiently numerous to meet the de- 
mands on them. But this was followed by the reassur- 
ing news that those sagacious creatures had sent off 
signals to their comrades in other parts and that numer- 
ous arrivals had entirely relieved the situation. This 
was my first visit to India and I found pestilence and 
famine in possession of that unhappy land. We went 
one afternoon for a drive to the Parsi Towers of Silence. 
The way was beautiful, first along the beach and then 
up the long winding slope of Malabar Hill, and as we 
approached the gates a funeral procession was entering, 
all clad in white, the bier covered with fresh white 
muslin. The men of the procession were walking two 



564 The Old World 

abreast, each couple linked by holding the corners of a 
white handkerchief between them. It all looked very 
pure and solemn. When I caught sight of the towers, I 
exclaimed, "What appropriate ornamentations!" for 
all around the top of each tower was a circle of vultures 
so close together as almost to touch, their heads all 
turned one way. I thought they were chiseled from 
stone, so motionless and so silent they sat. They were 
living, however, but made no movement till their duties 
were to begin. It seemed the strangest mixture of 
incongruous associations, so much of beauty, yet the 
gruesome ever present in those vultures and in those 
towers. As we returned late in the afternoon, marvelous 
views of the sea and its islands, the harbor, the moun- 
tains, and the great buildings of Bombay were spread 
out beneath us, but night overtook us when we reached 
the streets of the city. Suddenly I remarked one side 
of the sky all aflame with a lurid glare. I called out, 
"Bombay is on fire, the city is burning." "No," said 
the driver, "that is the Hindoo burning ground." 
Then I understood, for I had read that the average 
number of Hindoos burned daily at this place was 
two hundred. Although frightened at my own temer- 
ity, I ordered the driver to take us there. When we 
arrived, we left the carriage and walked to the gates of 
the great enclosure. I can never forget the impression 
made during those moments. Within were the appar- 
ently countless funeral pyres on each of which a corpse 
was laid, while men almost completely naked armed 
with long poles were briskly stirring the flames. They 
represented perfectly our crude ideas of hell with 
demons torturing the damned. These demons seemed 
to be dancing around their victims, stirring the flames 
to ever greater intensity. I stood for a while spellbound 



Through Old Eyes 565 

by the horror of the scene, then terror seized me and I 
fled to the carriage. I had had enough of beauty and 
of horrors that afternoon. Arrived at the hotel, we 
heard that the plague had appeared in a house opposite, 
and the servants had all declared they were going to 
quit in a body. We left next day on a train which I 
heard afterwards carried many plague-stricken passen- 
gers, but we in the first class saw nothing of these poor 
sufferers. 



THE END 



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